This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the highly-anticipated September Jobs Report. The report, typically expected on the first Friday of the month (for reports covering the month prior), was delayed 48 days due to the government shutdown.
Key Findings
The U.S. added 119,000 jobs in September. This is a substantial increase from the 4,000 lost in August (Note: August’s data was revised down in today’s report, from +22,000 jobs to -4,000 jobs. July’s numbers were also revised down slightly in the current report).
Despite the job gains, unemployment increased slightly to 4.4%, the highest it has been since October 2021.
The healthcare and food and drink industries led job growth for the month, with 43,000 and 37,000 gained respectively.
Federal government employment continued its decline, dropping by 3,000 in September; federal jobs are down 97,000 since January of 2025.
The Labor Department confirmed on Wednesday that it will not release job numbers for October, though it plans to include some October data in November’s report, set to be released on December 16. The Labor Department claims that BLS does not have the necessary data since federal employees who conduct the survey were furloughed during the shutdown, and the data is not able to be retroactively collected. [POLITICO, subscription model]
The lack of recent jobs data has sparked concern among some lawmakers and federal employees that the federal government may not have sufficient information to make meaningful decisions about the direction of the economy. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has described the situation as “driving in the fog.” [CNBC]
This week, we’re also covering:
White Paper: Lowering Workforce Barriers for Americans with Disabilities
Trump’s Big Push for Apprenticeships Has Yet to Take Off
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
Workforce and Labor Trends, By the Numbers
Job cuts are up 175% from October, according to a new analysis released by Challenger, Grey and Christmas.
More than 4 in 10 companies plan to cut positions and replace them with AI, a new Korn Ferry report finds.
About 55% of Americans are concerned about losing their jobs, a recent Harris Poll found. 62% of respondents said the cost of their everyday purchases had risen over the last month.
Roughly 1 in 3 job openings don’t lead to a concrete hire, a new report suggests, creating a “ghost job economy.”
White Paper: Lowering Workforce Barriers for Americans with Disabilities
In a volatile labor market, American businesses must challenge legacy hiring practices to tap skills from often-overlooked parts of the labor market, including people with disabilities. In a new white paper, W/A's Ben Watsky and Strada Collaborative President Tom Dawson make the case that businesses and policymakers should invest in support for disabled workers not as an act of charity, but as an economic imperative. The report, with a foreword by SHRM President and CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr., highlights the role of emerging technologies in creating new opportunities for the 1-in-4 working-age Americans who are disabled.
Trump’s Big Push for Apprenticeships Has Yet to Take Off
The number of Registered Apprenticeships in the U.S. has grown 3.9% over the prior fiscal year, with just under 700,000 active apprenticeships, according to the Labor Department. Despite the Trump administration strongly pushing for the expansion of apprenticeships, this is still below their goal of 1 million, as experts cite the government shutdown and economic uncertainty as key factors holding back progress. Vinz Koller, vice president of the Center for Apprenticeship and Work-Based Learning at Jobs for the Future, told POLITICO, “The long view is that this is vibrant and growing, but there is a short- and medium-term lack of capacity to keep up with this.”
Partnerships, Investments, and Company Innovation
ManpowerGroup partnered with Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona to build skills-based pathways into the semiconductor and manufacturing sector through specialized training in AI/ML, engineering, STEM, and technician roles. The curriculum will include apprenticeships, internships, among other hands-on learning opportunities, and aims to culminate in industry-recognized certifications for enrollees.
The William Penn Foundation announced a new partnership with Comcast, the Philadelphia Foundation, the Connelly Foundation, Future Standard, and M&T Bank to pledge $8.35 million in funding to workforce training organizations across Philadelphia. The funding will be split across 19 nonprofit organizations, with the aim of training over 4,000 workers in the Philadelphia area across the enterprise digital solutions, materials machining and fabrication, and biomedical and life sciences sectors.
Craft Education released an Apprenticeship Masterclass Playbook, a 50+ page hands-on workbook with customizable templates, practical checklists, and step-by-step tools to help build apprenticeship-aligned programs that benefit students, schools, and employers. This tool is designed to help teachers, CTE coordinators, administrators, and work-based learning leaders to identify apprenticeship-ready pathways and align curriculums with industry needs.
What We’re Reading (And Listening To)
The Hidden ROI Of Job Quality: Better Jobs Improve Your Bottom Line [Forbes, subscription model]
How Seeing Women In Power Can Slow Real Change, And What To Do About It [Forbes, subscription model]
How Storytelling Unlocks Career Pathways In The Age Of AI [Forbes, subscription model]
It’s Too Early to Write Off College Degrees [The Wall Street Journal, subscription model]
Work-life balance finally outranks pay as a top motivator for job seekers, but CEOs aren’t sold [Fortune, subscription model]
Remote professionals are quiet quitting Fridays. Their rebellion could open the door to a 4-day work week [Fortune, subscription model]
Companies Predict 2026 Will Be the Worst College Grad Job Market in Five Years [The Wall Street Journal, subscription model]
Thank you for reading “New Skills, Talent and Development”! Our team is experimenting with a new format and biweekly cadence through the end of 2025. Let us know what you think.
This edition of “New Skills, Talent and Development” was drafted by Zoe Almeida and Annie Han and edited by Julia Pasette-Seamon and Erica Price Burns.