Hire Calling

Cornering The Job Market: The News and Headlines You Need to Know for August 14, 2025

• Pete Newsome

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In this episode of the Hire Calling Podcast, host Pete Newsome breaks down the latest workplace trends you need to know now. 

The job market is sending mixed signals; New York City added fewer than 1,000 private sector jobs in early 2025, its weakest growth in over two decades. At the same time, “Coldplaygate” has sparked a fresh conversation about office romances, with nearly half of Gen Z having experienced one, as in-person work makes authentic connections more common.

Meanwhile, “AI Theater” is emerging, with some workers faking AI skills to keep up appearances while true AI literacy becomes increasingly valuable. Adding to the complexity, the participation of working mothers has fallen to a three-year low, raising concerns about the future of workplace flexibility.

What shifts are you seeing in your industry? Subscribe to stay ahead of the trends shaping work.


News Articles:
1. New York City Companies All but Stopped Hiring in First Half of the Year
2. Mothers are leaving the workforce, erasing pandemic gains
3. ‘AI theater’ emerges as workplace pressure grows
4. Ranked: The Most Important Job Skills in 2025

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

Pete Newsome:

Welcome to cornering the job market for August 14th 2025. I'm Pete Newsome and here are the headlines you need to know for today. First, new York has added fewer than a thousand private sector jobs in the first half of 2025. So look at this graphic. This is this is um. You know, historically new york adds significantly, significantly more jobs than they've added, and this is the lowest number since 2003. So 22 years we've hit a low and it's practically non-existent. A thousand jobs jobs for New York is nothing. This is a really bad sign for the market Data. We talk about that a lot lately. Can we trust it? We should question it. This is according to the New York mayor's office. I don't know why they would be motivated to put out lower numbers, especially since we have an election coming up and the mayor is not looking good for it right now. So this is a bad sign for New York. I think it's a bad sign for the market overall. So not good to see. So we'll pay attention to that as time goes on. But just 956 jobs added in New York in the first half of 2025. It's just a staggering number. In other news, apparently Coldplaygate is real. Yes, coldplaygate is becoming the new norm.

Pete Newsome:

Business Insider published an article titled Sick of Dating Apps Gen Z is Looking for Love in the Office. A new survey finds that nearly half of Gen Z workers have had an office romance and many say returning to the workplace, at least part-time, made it happen. What a shock, right? If you're in the office, you are going to date Now. I personally think this is good news. It's one of the things that has been a drawback, in my opinion, to young people not being in the office. Although many like working virtually maybe most. It's certainly impacting relationships and historically, one in five marriages have come from meeting at work. So, unsurprisingly, people say they're burned out on swiping and want genuine face-to-face connections being in the same space every day, sharing coffee breaks, workplace stress that'll bring you together and this hanging out after work. It creates a natural chemistry and natural dating is a great thing for society and young people as a whole. So it's certainly an upside to what you may not want to have to face with returning to office. But here we are and it's more accepted now. Only 5% of companies ban it outright and most just set some ground rules around it. So off the cold play gate, here we are Got lots of attention. Now I'll just go on record and say if you're going to date someone in the office, make sure they're not married and make sure you're not married. It will work out a lot better for everyone and enjoy your concert and the jumbotron along the way.

Pete Newsome:

So in other news, according to a recent Howdycom survey of more than a thousand professionals, ai theater is the new offense performance trend. Have you heard that term yet, ai theater? I hadn't until I read this article. But a new survey found that 22% of workers feel pressured to use AI, even when they aren't sure how, and 16% admit they've pretended to use AI just to meet expectations. So I can see that right.

Pete Newsome:

Ai is so prevalent we need to be using it. Everyone wants workers that use it. So fake it till you make it, I guess. But AI theater that's what it's being called. So you heard it here first. Maybe I heard it first earlier today. But look, people are finding a way to appear tech savvy and that pressure to do so is real in today's workplace. So Now my recommendation to anyone is don't just fake it, don't pretend. Actually embrace AI and the changes that it's bringing on and figure out how to leverage it to increase your performance. I mean, whether you do it or not is your choice, but ultimately you won't be able to pretend and you'll be exposed. So AI theater that's what's happening right now in the workplace.

Pete Newsome:

Now let's talk about real skills that are needed. Here are the skills that are most ranked the top 25, I'm sorry, the top skills for 2025 in the workplace. You can tell I'm still figuring out how to share on this screen, but this is according to the World Tech Forum's on this screen, but this is according to the World Tech Forum's job survey that they do every year. It's shared by Visual Capitalist. And the top 25 skills, as you can see here analytical thinking, resilience, flexibility, leadership and social influence, creative thinking and motivation and self-awareness. Those are your top five. Now, I would say that these are skills that have always been important and valuable, since the beginning of humankind, since we first had societies and certainly since we first started working. So no surprise whatsoever that these are the top skills and I think they will be for a long time to come forever, hopefully. But you see AI and technical literacy creeping up in there. I'm curious to see what the survey will show next year, where I wouldn't be surprised if those are maybe even in the top five. So we have to continue to evolving there too. So once again, don't just fake your knowledge of AI actually figured out along the way.

Pete Newsome:

And then there's this report that came out from the Washington Post. It shows that working mothers are leaving the workplace at a rapid rate, and I'm going to share a graphic on this too. So this is not good to see. Working moms really benefited from the post-COVID job comeback. We were booming and I say we being a staffing company owner. Everyone who's involved in hiring just could not find enough candidates in that timeframe, and companies were being extremely flexible with what they were willing to do for their employees. Working from home, not just because they had to, but by choice or even as a perk, became increasingly common, and working mothers absolutely benefited from this or from that. But between January and June 2025, labor force participation among mothers aged 25 to 24 with young children dropped nearly three points, hitting the lowest level seen in more than three years, and the data shows that more than 212,000 women aged 20 and older have left the workplace or stopped seeking jobs since January. This is disappointing to see, although not surprising. I mean. It's definitely bad news for families and even worse for single moms. But I have to be honest, I won't be surprised if this trend continues for a while, as employers continue to gain the upper hand in the job market.

Pete Newsome:

So those are your five headlines for today. Uh, but before we go, here's your fun fact the first US federal jobs report. It was originally called the Monthly Summary of the Labor Market. Out how to get it right, especially with the advancements in technology along the way, which have been significant, to say the least. But no, it's perhaps worse than ever. So there you have it 110 year old federal jobs report. That's when it started. Hopefully they'll get it right soon. That's it for today. Thanks for listening. Please subscribe, like and, of course, share your feedback. Let me know what you want to hear about and if you disagree, they'll get it right soon. That's it for today. Thanks for listening. Please subscribe, like and, of course, share your feedback. Let me know what you want to hear about and if you disagree with anything I said, let me know that too. I'm happy to debate. Talk to you soon.