Workspan Daily News Bytes for Sept. 5, 2025

BLS Report Shows Lackluster U.S. Hiring Picture

Warning signs continued to emerge for employment in the United States as the jobs report for August came in under analyst projections.

Data released Friday, Sept. 5, by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed the country added just 22,000 jobs during the month, compared to the 75,000 to 80,000 that various analysts had forecast and below the 79,000 jobs that were added in July. The latter figure was revised from the 73,000 listed in the Aug. 1 report. Revisions also showed a net loss of 13,000 in June after the prior estimate was reduced by 27,000.

The Sept. 5 report put the unemployment rate at 4.3%, compared to 4.2% in the prior report.

This is the first BLS monthly jobs report following President Donald Trump’s removal of commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Aug. 1 after accusing her of manipulating the monthly data releases for “political purposes.”

The new BLS report provided an updated glimpse on:

Unemployment. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (4.1%), adult women (3.8%), teenagers (13.9%), Whites (3.7%), Blacks (7.5%), Asians (3.6%) and Hispanics (5.3%) showed little or no change in August. Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants decreased by 199,000 to 786,000, largely offsetting an increase in the prior month. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) changed little at 1.9 million but has increased by 385,000 over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.7% of all unemployed people.
Industrial-sector employment. Healthcare added 31,000 jobs, below the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Employment continued to trend up over the month in ambulatory healthcare services (+13,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000), and hospitals (+9,000). … Social assistance continued to trend up (+16,000), reflecting continued job growth in individual and family services (+16,000). … The federal government sector continued to decline (-15,000) and is down by 97,000 since reaching a peak in January. … The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector declined by 6,000, after changing little over the prior 12 months. … Wholesale trade continued to trend down (-12,000) and has fallen by 32,000 since May. … Manufacturing changed little (-12,000) but is down by 78,000 over the year. The transportation equipment sector declined by 15,000, in part due to strike activity. … There was little change in other major industries, including construction, 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 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $36.53. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7%. Average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 12 cents, or 0.4%, to $31.46. … The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was 34.2 hours for the third month in a row. In manufacturing, the average workweek edged down to 40.0 hours, and overtime remained unchanged at 2.9 hours. The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 33.7 hours.

Washington High Court Upholds Language in Pay Transparency Law

The Washington Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, Sept. 4, that job seekers do not have to prove they are a “bona fide” or serious applicant to be covered under a state law that enables them to sue an employer for not including a salary range on its job listings.

The two plaintiffs in the case had applied for positions at the Total Wine and More liquor store chain through the job site Indeed. Pay range and benefits weren’t included in the listings, as required by Washington’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA). That statute allows a person who applies for a job through a noncompliant posting to sue for $5,000 in damages.

The crux of the high court case was to obtain clarity on the term “job applicant” within the EPEA. Total Wine had argued that applying the term broadly (i.e., anyone who fills out a job application) would generate “absurd” consequences, leading to a slew of lawsuits from people who are unqualified, not interested in employment, etc. The Supreme Court disagreed in a 6-3 decision.

“In order to best effectuate the statute’s intended purpose of eradicating pay-based discrimination, it follows that the term ‘job applicant’ should be more broadly defined,” wrote Justice Barbara Madsen in the 39-page opinion document. “Narrowing the term ‘job applicant’ to those who applied for the job in good faith or have a bona fide interest in obtaining the posted job would shift the onus from employers to comply with the EPOA and put the burden on applicants to show that they applied in good faith despite not being provided the required pay expectations in the relevant job posting. … The legislature did not intend to make it more difficult for job applicants to recover for violations of the EPOA. Rather, in providing statutory damages as a potential remedy, it intended to hold employers accountable regardless of an applicant’s ability to show actual damages since proving damages in these situations is difficult.”

The case now returns to the trial court.

Study: U.K. Gender Bonus Gap Widens in 2025

Men employed in the United Kingdom (U.K.) are almost 1.5 times more likely to receive a bonus than women, according to new research conducted by Brightmine, an HR consulting firm based on London.

According to a Management-Issues.com report, Brightmine analyzed payroll data for more than 1.1. million individuals employed in 999 organizations. Of the total sample, 138,411 individuals employed in 330 organizations received a bonus (12% of the total). The data encompassed entry-level to chief executive jobs across the private and public sectors.

The research found the average bonus for men was £4,913 (9.5% of salary), compared to £2,723 (6% of salary) for women. Across annual bonuses, the data showed a £2,190 gender bonus gap — meaning men’s bonuses are 1.8 times higher than women’s. This gap widens with age, peaking in the early 50s, where men averaged a bonus of £8,693, while women received £4,193 — a gap of £4,500.

“While bonuses are becoming scarcer across the workforce, the real story is the gap between males and females receiving bonuses,” said Sheila Attwood, an HR insights and data lead at Brightmine. “This, alongside the news that U.K. gender pay gap has been underestimated for the past 20 years, serves to highlight a continuing equity issue that organizations can no longer afford to ignore. If employers are serious about inclusivity, they need to face the gap head on and interrogate their reward practices to ensure transparency, fairness and consistency.”

Uber Eats to Fork Over $15M to Settle Pay Dispute

Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards (OLS) announced Aug. 26 it had reached a $15 million settlement with Uber Eats after the city alleged the food delivery service violated multiple worker protection laws. More than 16,000 app-based workers will receive back pay and damages.

“As the largest settlement in OLS history, this sets a new benchmark and represents a significant milestone for the protection of worker rights in Seattle in the rapidly growing industry of app-based work,” said OLS director Steven Marchese. “It’s only fair that companies inform workers of their pay before work begins and honor those commitments.”

OLS investigated Uber Eats twice over the course of two years:

In 2023, after a worker complained they didn’t earn “surge pay” while working during busy times in high-traffic locations; and,
In 2024, under the App-Based Worker Minimum Payment (ABWMP) Ordinance, which took effect January 2024 and ensured app-based workers received a minimum payment based on the time worked and the miles traveled for each offer, including when a job is “cancelled with cause.”

OLS began investigating Uber Eats after receiving complaints from workers who alleged they were not paid or were underpaid for jobs that were cancelled for cause.

OLS reached the global settlement agreement with Uber Eats on July 18 to resolve both allegations, which Uber Eats has denied. Payments were scheduled to reach workers by Sept. 1.

Colorado Delays Antidiscrimination AI Law

Colorado’s artificial intelligence (AI) antidiscrimination law, which was set to go into effect Feb. 1, 2026, has now been delayed to June 2026.

According to employment law firm Fisher Phillips, the state passed the nation’s first comprehensive AI antidiscrimination law in 2024, requiring massive obligations for AI developers — from risk impact assessments to reporting and disclosures. The law also requires employers and businesses deploying AI to take significant steps to eliminate bias, including providing notification when AI is being used, as well as appeal rights, disclosures and more.

Opponents rallied against the law and pushed for substantive changes, or at least a delay to work out revisions, Fisher Phillips noted, and state lawmakers agreed last month to a compromise measure that would ease the burdens on the tech community but retained many employer and business obligations.

The state Senate passed the measure Aug. 25 to delay the implementation date to June 30, 2026, with the state House passing the measure the next day. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill Aug. 28, making the new date effective.

“Employers and businesses headquartered outside Colorado will almost certainly be affected by any new law passed in 2026. We expect it will apply to businesses making employment decisions about candidates or employees who reside in Colorado, even if the company is located elsewhere,” stated the legal experts at Fisher Phillips.

Maine Employers Prep for New Impacted-Shift Compensation Law

Maine recently enacted a law that requires employers in the state to pay workers who show up for their scheduled shifts but then have their hours cut short or canceled. Set to take effect Sept. 24, the law:

Covers all industries (but the biggest impact will likely occur in the restaurant, retail and tourism sectors).
Applies to employers with at least 10 employees for more than 120 days in a calendar year.
Does not apply to salaried/exempt workers.
Stipulates that the required pay amount is the lesser of two hours’ worth of wages at the worker’s regular pay rate or the total shift pay for which the worker was initially scheduled.

The new requirements don’t apply in cases of adverse weather conditions or a natural disaster civil emergency.

Employers may be subject to a fine between $100 and $500 for each violation of the law.

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