Trump’s promise to “bring back Main Street” is certain to impact the dynamic of U.S. jobs. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlined the plan: shrink government, reduce national debt, boost private sector growth using tax cuts, energy policy and deregulation. America’s thriving entrepreneurial culture and its innate willingness to take risk has fueled past economic growth. Will it again?
How the U.S. job market has changed through the centuries
Size of U.S. workforce (2025) 161.3m
Largest employment category: management 42.8%, 70.7 million workers
Property management businesses in U.S. 325,037, up 2.7 percent since 2020
U.S. jobs through to the present (2025)
Retail, wholesale trade 22% (down)
Construction 5.2% (up)
Transportation, warehousing 4.3% (up)
Agriculture 1.57% (up)
Manufacturing 8% (down)
Mining 0.3% (down)
Domestic labor 1.4% (up)
Professional services 15% (up)
Utilities .56% (up)
Installation, maintenance .05% (up)
Telecom 6% (down)
Healthcare 10.8% (up)
Entertainment 1.7% (up)
Education 8.4% (down)
State, federal government 14% (up)
Financial services 5.6% (up)
Data: Graphic is a visual average. Year over year variations will occur due to differences in measurement methods and restructure of categories through the decades. Source: 1850-2015 Visual Capitalist, IPIMS USA 2017, U.S. Bureau of Statistics, McKinsey Global Institute Analysis; 2015-2025 AI Analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, FRED St. Louis Fed, Statista, others
