Today’s new job numbers reflect the ongoing story of this economy: it’s gonna be meh. On the heels of May Day worker celebrations around the world, today’s data show an economy that is failing workers while the stock market climbs to dizzying heights. Unemployment rates for nearly all groups of workers remained essentially unchanged last month and the economy added only 115,000 jobs. Compared to April of last year, a smaller share of people are working and job growth has been dismal. And even among workers, the market looks bleak: the number of people who want to be working full time but can’t get the hours they want jumped by 445,000 workers last month.
Health care accounted for nearly one third of all job gains last month, driven by growth in home health care services and nursing homes and residential care facilities. These figures underscore that health care jobs like nurses, home health aides and more – jobs which are primarily held by women – are the future of the economy. But upcoming analysis from the 75 Million Project shows that even in these roles inequities exist – and that policy choices by the Trump administration threaten future growth.
Across different groups of women workers the labor market data were unencouraging. Among adult women overall, unemployment was essentially flat at 3.9 percent, compared to 4.0 percent in March. Latinas’ unemployment rate dipped slightly, from 5.1 percent to 4.8 percent, but this was driven by women leaving the labor market. Things were especially bleak for Black women, whose unemployment increased from 6.1 percent in March to 6.5 percent in April, even as their labor force participation rate declined. For Black women and Latinas, as well as women overall, unemployment rates are higher now than April of last year.
One group of workers that is particularly struggling? Women veterans. The share of women veterans who are in the labor force has dropped steeply in the last year, to 56.7 percent last month from 59.1 percent in April of 2025. This is likely driven in part by cuts to the federal government, which has lost 11.5 percent of its jobs since October of 2024. Prior to these cuts, the federal government employed more than one of out every six working women veterans. And working women veterans continue to be threatened by proposed cuts to staff whose job it is to ensure fair hiring practices and adherence to affirmative action laws for veteran workers on federal contracts.
As millionaire investors profit from the war-driven volatility of the stock market, everyday workers face a stagnant economy while coping with skyrocking gas prices that make it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Instead of bankrupting the country to pay for wars abroad while slashing needed health care and other supports at home, the administration should work for working families by raising the minimum wage, protecting workers from discrimination, paying women fairly for their labor, and ensuring workers have access to paid leave. These are the policies – the ones in the Working Women’s Bill of Rights – that help women stay on the job and take home a bigger paycheck. And that will make life more affordable for everyone.
