Workspan Daily News Bytes for Aug. 1, 2025

U.S. Jobs Growth Weakened in July; Prior Months Revised Downward

Jobs growth in the United States was weaker than anticipated in July, and the previous two months were not as strong as originally categorized, according to data released Friday, Aug. 1, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The BLS report showed the U.S. added just 73,000 jobs in July, less than the 115,000 that economists had predicted. The report also revised the May and June figures downward by a collective 258,000 jobs, bringing those monthly net gains to 19,000 and 14,000, respectively. Previous BLS data pegged May growth at 144,000 and June growth at 147,000.

The new report put the unemployment rate at 4.2% (equal with economist forecasts), versus 4.1% for June.

The July report also provided an updated glimpse on:

• Unemployment. Among the major worker groups, the jobless rates for adult men (4.0%), adult women (3.7%), teenagers (15.2%), Whites (3.7%), Blacks (7.2%), Asians (3.9%) and Hispanics (5.0%) showed little change. Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants increased by 275,000 in July to 985,000. New entrants are unemployed people who are looking for their first job. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 179,000 to 1.8 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 24.9% of all unemployed people. The labor force participation rate, at 62.2%, changed little but has declined by 0.5 percentage point over the year. The employment-population ratio, at 59.6%, also changed little over the month but was down by 0.4 percentage point over the year.
• Industrial-sector employment. Healthcare added 55,000 jobs, above the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Over the month, job gains occurred in ambulatory health care services (+34,000) and hospitals (+16,000). ... Social assistance employment continued to trend up (+18,000), reflecting continued job growth in individual and family services (+21,000). … Federal government employment continued to decline (-12,000) and is down by 84,000 since reaching a peak in January. … Employment showed little change over the month in other major industries, including mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services.
• Wages and hours. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $36.44. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased 3.9%. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 8 cents, or 0.3%, to $31.34. … The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 34.3 hours. In manufacturing, the average workweek held at 40.1 hours, and overtime edged down to 2.8 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours in July.

Colorado AG Sues PetSmart for Deceptive Training Program

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced on Tuesday, July 29, that he is suing petcare retailer PetSmart after a state investigation found it trapped dog groomers into illegal contracts that required them to stay with the company for years or risk paying thousands of dollars.

PetSmart, which has 16,000 stores nationwide, operates a program called Grooming Academy, which offers training to entry-level employees to become dog groomers. To keep trained stylists employed, the company used training repayment agreement provision contracts, or TRAPs, that locked workers into their jobs by threatening them if they left with legal action to recover thousands of dollars for training that workers were initially told was free.

To promote the training program, PetSmart advertised Grooming Academy as training that was “free,” “paid” and included “free tools.” Despite promoting the program as free, the attorney general’s office said the company knew it was asking trainees to sign TRAPs that required them to stay on the job at least two years or repay $5,500 in training costs, or $5,000 if the trainee turned down a provided toolkit.

The contracts required employees to repay the costs of the training and tools whether they left voluntarily or involuntarily. Even if the employee left after a full year working at PetSmart, they would still owe 50% of the training costs.

If employees left before their second anniversary of starting Grooming Academy and did not pay within 30 days, the contracts said the company could file a civil lawsuit and pursue the amount owed, fees for collections and attorney costs, and interest at the “highest rate permitted by law.” According to the attorney general’s office, PetSmart sent nearly two dozen former employees to collections after they left.

Weiser is asking the court to:

• Declare that PetSmart violated the Colorado Consumer Protection Act;
• Bar the company from illegal practices outlined in the lawsuit;
• Forbid the company from collecting any money owed from existing TRAPs;
• Pay fines to the state; and,
• Pay the state’s legal costs.

Report: AI Adoption Is Outpacing Organizational Readiness

Four in five people use artificial intelligence (AI) at work, and 36% consider it “essential” to their job, according to a new survey by Gusto, an HR software company.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. employees revealed workers are quietly integrating AI into their daily routines — often without their managers’ knowledge. It found:

• 45% have used AI tools at work without informing their managers or employers.
• 26% of workers reported having clear company AI policies.
• 24% made their own decisions due to lack of clear rules.

Because workers are taking initiative and figuring out AI as they go, the survey said AI adoption is outpacing organizational readiness by a significant margin, creating a shadow economy of productivity gains that employers may not even realize they’re benefiting from. In fact, 53% of polled workers said their productivity would slow if AI were banned tomorrow.

The survey also found a significant transparency gap, with most workers opting for ambiguity over clarity when presenting AI-assisted work to colleagues and supervisors. Findings included:

• 32% of surveyed respondents always explain what parts are AI-assisted.
• 24% mention AI helped but don’t go into detail.
• 24% adjust what they say depending on the situation.
• 19% don’t mention AI was involved.
• 3% are unsure how to talk about AI use.

Workforce Signals Retention Stability, But Market Uncertainty Deepens

A new Employee Retention Index from Eagle Hill Consulting showed workers likely will remain in their jobs over the next six months. The index is based on a monthly survey of U.S. adults employed full or part time. Reports are issued based on a minimum of 1,200 aggregated responses per quarter.

The data showed the retention index rose by 0.4 points to 102.9 during the fourth quarter of 2024. Importantly, the index measured a sharp decline in employees’ perceptions of the external job market. The market opportunity indicator dropped by 4.4 points, the steepest decline since the index’s inception in 2023 and now the lowest recorded level.

Only the compensation indicator increased during this period (1.1 points), a possible sign that as employees grow more weary of the job market, they are finding their current compensation and benefits more attractive. The organizational confidence and culture indicators both saw slight declines (1.1 and 0.7 points, respectively), reinforcing the idea that while internal organizational experiences shape employee decisions to stay or leave, external pressures are becoming more significant.

Generation Z workers continued to hold the highest retention index, at 105.7, signaling they are the generation most likely to stay in their roles in the coming six months. Gen Z also reported the strongest job market opportunity indicator (101.3), reflecting their more optimistic view of the external market and ability to find jobs elsewhere. 

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Employee Compensation
• Employee Experience
• Finance and Budgeting