#job-market-trends

#job-market-trends

The jobs report last week offered a more sunny outlook than expected, with an uptick of 115,000 jobs in April; the unemployment rate also held steady at 4.3%. The data also, however, points to a more nuanced story about a broader shift in the labor force. Last month, the number of men who were working or actively looking for a job fell to the lowest figure seen in decades, with the exception of an anomalous dip during the early months of the pandemic. That means a third of men have dropped out of the workforce as of April.

According to the Registered Agents Inc. December Business Formation Report, more than 5.9 million new businesses were formed in 2025, an 8% increase over 2024 nationwide. And sure, it's easy to point to the usual heavy hitters, states like Florida and Texas, which posted another standout year and outperformed 2024 month after month.

As U.S. job growth in 2025 reached its lowest point since the pandemic in 2020, Blacks have been hit extra hard. Their discharges stem from rollbacks in the federal government, DEI pullbacks, and large layoffs in areas such as education, health services and social assistance. Now, nearly two-thirds of Blacks in the U.S. are looking for a new job in 2026. Yet, 75% feel unprepared for the job search ahead.

Asks for Blender expertise grew 82% year over year, while requests for proficiency with Canva went up 72%. Canva's templated approach took off with the masses.

"It's not enough to know how a transformer model works; what matters is knowing when and why to use AI to drive business outcomes," says Scott Weller, CTO of AI-powered credit risk analysis platform EnFi.

In the past two years, with the exception of New York City, the share of white-collar job postings across the country shrank in many major cities.

Most employers run a digital background check as part of their hiring process, increasingly scrutinizing candidates' online presence and personal brands.