Breaking Job News: Skilled Labor Crisis Deepens Amid BLS Data Blackout

With BLS data frozen during the shutdown, there is no employment report, no CPI, and no benchmarks; employers, investors, and policymakers are suddenly flying blind. In today’s Breaking Job News, host Pete Newsome digs into how the loss of federal data is reshaping hiring plans, slowing approvals, extending recruiting cycles, and dialing up uncertainty at the exact moment companies were hoping for clarity.

He breaks down what private-sector indicators are showing in the absence of BLS continuity, why leaders default to caution when credibility gaps appear, and how this data blackout could influence Federal Reserve decisions, wage pressures, and Q4 hiring momentum.

Then Pete shifts to the “economic emergency” inside America’s skilled labor shortage. Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company still can’t fill 5,000 mechanic roles, even with pay reaching $120K+, and it’s just one snapshot of a nationwide crisis. With over one million open skilled trade jobs, stagnant training pipelines, and multi-year mastery fields like diesel, EV, and industrial maintenance lacking modern apprenticeship paths, wage hikes alone can’t fix the gap. Pete examines the steps required to rebuild the talent pipeline that the middle class relies on.

He also breaks down fresh Indeed Hiring Lab data to map where demand is rising, stalling, or reversing. Tech remains muted, while healthcare is cooling but remains strong. B2B services are mixed, retail continues to slide, and transportation shows wage stability despite softer postings. The headline? The job market isn’t collapsing, it’s resetting. The future depends on having better data and a more robust skills pipeline.

💬 What do you think: What would convince more young workers to pursue trade careers today? 

News Articles:
1. US Labor Market Quarterly Verticals for Q3 2025: https://www.hiringlab.org/2025/11/13/us-labor-market-quarterly-verticals-for-q3-2025/
2. White House Says the October Jobs Report May Never Be Released: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/11/12/white-house-october-jobs-data/
3. Ford CEO Says He Has 5,000 Open Mechanic Jobs With 6-Figure Salaries From the Shortage of Manually Skilled Workers: https://fortune.com/2025/11/12/ford-ceo-manufacturing-jobs-trade-schools-we-are-in-trouble-in-our-country/

Don’t miss out! Subscribe for weekly updates on the latest job news. 

🧠 WANT TO LEARN MORE? Be sure to subscribe and check out 4 Corner Resources at https://www.4cornerresources.com/

👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog

Episode Transcript

Pete Newsome (00:00):
Today's job market headlines include a wake-up
call from Ford's CEO and abreakdown of labor market
verticals by Indeed.
But before we get to those, forthe first time in modern
history, the U.S.
Jobs report may never bereleased.
White House Press SecretaryCaroline Levitt said that the
October employment and inflationdata will likely never be
published because of thegovernment shutdown.

(00:21):
The Labor Department confirmedthat it stopped collecting
economic data, including themonthly jobs and CPI reports
that guide nearly every majoreconomic decision in the
country.
The last time a shutdowndelayed a jobs report was 2013.
But this time it's verydifferent because this data
might be lost altogether.
And without it, economists,investors, and even the Federal

(00:42):
Reserve are effectively flyingblind.
Private firms are stepping inwith their own analysis, most
showing the same thing, whicheveryone who's paying attention
already knows.
Hiring is slowing and layoffsin October hit recession-like
levels.
But this is unprecedented.
The BLS data isn't just numberson a spreadsheet.
It's foundational for howemployers plan and economist

(01:02):
forecasts and even the Fed usesit to set policy.
So if we lose even one month ofofficial data, it sets back
workforce planning everywhere.
So for now, we'll have to relyon private information that's
published from firms likeIndeed, ADP, and Challenger Gray
and Christmas.
That's what's telling us thepulse of the job market right
now.
Or you could listen to podcastsfrom staffing people who live

(01:26):
it every day because I can tellyou what I see, what my peers
all see, is very consistent withwhat these private companies
have been reporting.
But still, make no mistake,this creates massive uncertainty
for anyone who relies on it forhiring and investment
decisions.
Next, Ford's CEO Jim Farleysays America is in trouble.
And it's not about cars, it'sabout people.

(01:47):
He said this as a guest on theOffice Hours Business Edition
podcast, where he revealed thatFord has 5,000 open mechanic
positions it can't fill, eventhough they pay up to $120,000 a
year.
He said this reflects anational crisis.
We have over 1 million unfilledskilled trade jobs across the
country, which is everythingfrom truck drivers and factory
workers to plumbers andelectricians.

(02:10):
He said we don't have tradeschools and we are not investing
in educating the nextgeneration.
Farley pointed out thatlearning to properly remove a
diesel engine from a Ford superduty truck can take up to five
years, but the traininginfrastructure simply isn't
there.
And that's despite Ford raisingwages significantly by 25% in
its most recent deal with theUnited Auto Workers.

(02:32):
And Farley says it's just notenough without rebuilding
America's pipeline for skilledlabor.
I think it's really good andnecessary to see a major
employer CEO pushing back on thecurrent education system.
But it's just bigger than that.
Our labor force is shrinking.
The supply of skilled labor andservice workers just isn't
meeting the demand today, andit's only going to get worse.

(02:54):
And because of that, this isone of the most important
conversations in the labormarket today that we could have,
and really in the country.
For decades, we told youngpeople the only path to success
is a four-year degree.
And along the way, we'veneglected vocational programs
and apprenticeships.
And now we're going to have todeal with that.
And when a company like Fordcan't fill high-paying jobs,

(03:18):
that tells us it's not a wageissue, it's a skill issue, a
training issue, an educationissue.
And so the future of America'smiddle class really depends on
correcting this mistake.
And it is a mistake because wewere just selling kids a dream
that was misguided, quitefrankly, in many cases.
And we just have to develop theskills we need for the future.

(03:40):
Finally, for today, what does ajob market look like across
verticals?
According to new data fromIndeed Hiring Lab, employer
demand in Q3 slowed acrossnearly every major industry.
Job postings were down 8.5%year over year.
And wage growth remainsslightly positive, but it's very
uneven.
It varies greatly by sector.

(04:01):
Here's a quick breakdown.
Technology is still struggling.
Job postings are more than 30%below pre-pandemic levels, with
data and analytics rolesspecifically dropping 15% just
year over year.
So you think AI is having animpact?
This data tells me that itdoes, because those are two
areas where AI definitely playsa big part.
Healthcare remains the strongestsector with therapy and

(04:23):
physician postings, about 85%higher than 2020 levels, but the
growth there is starting toslow.
B2B industries like accountingand finance show mixed mixed
results.
Postings are down, but wagesare up.
There's a 3.6% growth inaccounting pay.
So that's a trend in the rightdirection, although it's still,
you could argue, maybe that'snot even able to keep up with

(04:45):
inflation, at least realinflation.
And retail continues to slidewith postings down 16%, and food
service uh jobs are down 13.8%.
Transportation cooled more, butwage growth is up in in that
area, so that's slightly goodnews.
But look, these numbers tellwhat's become an ongoing story.
Employers just have becomereally cautious.

(05:06):
They aren't moving, nothingsignificant is happening.
And that comes after years ofaggressive post-pandemic hiring.
I mean, we saw that to asignificant degree.
I mean, you could just anychart you look at about the
labor market, it just jumps offthe uh the page when you see the
big dip and then the bigincrease.
And now you could argue we'restarting to see a return to

(05:27):
balance, but I think it's moreof just a reset that's happening
on the in the market right now.
And what I say uh almost everyday lately is what we need the
most is stability.
So the shutdown looks like it'sover.
That's great.
Now we can take a step in apositive direction.
And before we go, here's yourfun fact for today.
On this day, November 13th, in2020, Kem Eng became the first

(05:50):
female Major League BaseballGeneral Manager when she was
hired by the Mar Miami Marlins.
In fact, she was uh hired asthe first GM of any major men's
uh sports franchise in the US.
So huge accomplishment.
Really good stuff uh to closethe episode with.
So thank you for listening.
Please like, subscribe, sharewith anyone who you think might
be interested, and if you havefeedback, let me know that too.

(06:12):
Talk to you tomorrow.