August 2025 REPORT
Main Street reshuffles as seasonal slowdown meets elevated turnover
Key findings:
- Employee participation and hours worked both declined -3.0%, in line with August trends seen in 2023–2024, reflecting typical end-of-summer softening.
- Business activity contracted across all regions, led by the Southeast (-4.1% in Employees Working); losses were steepest in Entertainment, Caregiving, and Home & Repair.
- Turnover surged +17%, the strongest August since 2023, driven by seasonal exits and staffing resets.
- Hiring rose ~10% from July as businesses backfilled some of the vacated positions.
