"Labor share, or the portion of the U.S.'s economic output that workers receive through salary and wages, decreased to 53.8% in the third quarter of 2025, its lowest level since the BLS started recording this data in 1947, according to its labor productivity and costs report published last week. In the previous quarter, labor share was at 54.6%. This decade, the labor share average was 55.6%."
"Unemployment ticked down to 4.4% in December, but still sits above the 4.1% rate from 12 months before. Moreover, employers added just 584,000 jobs in 2025 compared to 2 million added in 2024. The stark bifurcation of corporate victories and weak labor data raises concerns among economists of jobless growth jeopardizing the U.S. workforce, as well as a K-shaped economy, where the rich get richer while the poor get poorer, becoming more exaggerated."
Labor share of U.S. economic output fell to 53.8% in Q3 2025, the lowest level recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since 1947, down from 54.6% the previous quarter and below the decade average of 55.6%. Corporate profits rose sharply, with Fortune 500 companies reporting $1.87 trillion in profits in 2024, and GDP grew 4.3% in the third quarter. Employment gains slowed: unemployment was 4.4% in December, above the prior year's 4.1%, and employers added 584,000 jobs in 2025 versus two million in 2024. The shift toward capital income and jobless growth contributes to widening income divergence and a more pronounced K-shaped economy.
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