Human Times

North American Edition

1st September 2025

THE HOT STORY

Labor Day: Immigration policies impact workforce

As Labor Day celebrations highlight the contributions of workers in the U.S., experts warn that President Trump's immigration policies are significantly affecting the labor force. According to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center, over 1.2m immigrants have left the labor market from January to July 2025. Immigrants constitute nearly 20% of the U.S. workforce, with 45% of agricultural workers being immigrants. Pew senior researcher Stephanie Kramer noted: “The influx across the border from what we can tell is essentially stopped,” impacting job creation. The construction sector has also seen job losses, with many contractors unable to find qualified workers due to immigration enforcement. The potential repercussions extend to healthcare, where immigrants make up about 43% of home health aides.

ABC News

U.S. News

DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION

Black jobless rate rises sharply

While overall U.S. unemployment remains low at 4.2%, the rate for Black workers has surged to 7.2%, its highest since late 2021. Economists link the spike to federal job cuts and broader hiring slowdowns, with Black workers—especially those in junior or government roles—disproportionately affected. “It’s a canary in the coal mine,” said economist Kenneth Couch. The impact is acute even for college-educated Black Americans, whose jobless rate now exceeds that of white high school graduates. As some companies scale back diversity efforts, the trend threatens to reverse gains made during the post-2020 labor market recovery.

Wall Street Journal

Cracker Barrel's pride page quietly disappears

Cracker Barrel has removed its dedicated Pride page from its website, redirecting visitors to a broader 'Culture & Belonging' section. The change follows backlash over the company's recent logo redesign, which critics argue stripped the brand of its character. A spokesperson stated the updates align with a shift towards corporate giving initiatives, such as addressing food insecurity. CEO Julie Felss Masino claimed that customer feedback has been positive regarding the company's modernisation efforts. The removal of the Pride page marks a significant pivot away from publicly supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives.

Daily Mail

WORKFORCE

Union membership trends: A mixed bag

Union membership in the U.S. has experienced a brief increase post-COVID, rising from 7m in 2021 to 7.2m in 2022, according to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, this spike is overshadowed by a long-term decline, with membership dropping from 20.1% of the workforce in 1983 to 10.1% in 2022, and further to a record-low of 9.9% in 2024. Todd Vachon, a Rutgers University professor, noted that “the low wages, irregular schedules and difficult work environments” in industries like hospitality have contributed to labor shortages. Despite these challenges, labor actions in New Jersey, such as strikes by NJ Transit engineers and Rutgers University staff, demonstrate ongoing efforts to improve working conditions. As labor laws weaken, experts like Kate Bronfenbrenner emphasize the need for unions to leverage their power in the workforce to advocate for better rights and protections.

New Jersey Herald

Job cuts loom at Voice of America

The U.S. Agency for Global Media, led by acting CEO Kari Lake, is set to eliminate 532 jobs, intensifying ongoing legal disputes regarding the future of Voice of America (VOA). This decision follows a federal judge's ruling that blocked Lake from removing Michael Abramowitz as VOA director, emphasizing that such an action would be “plainly contrary to law.” Lake stated: “We will continue to fulfill our statutory mission after this RIF,” indicating a commitment to the agency's objectives despite the layoffs. Affected employees have expressed their discontent, stating: “We find Lake's continued attacks on our agency abhorrent.” The agency oversees several broadcasters, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia, which collectively reach around 427m people.

The Columbian

Los Angeles Times

HIRING

JPMorgan poaches record number of senior bankers

JPMorgan Chase has significantly expanded its investment banking division, hiring around 100 managing directors from competitors like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. This recruitment surge, which began after a merger of its banking units in early 2024, marks the bank's largest influx of senior bankers in a decade. A source revealed that over 300 bankers have joined since early 2024, with nearly a third at managing director level. The bank aims to enhance its presence in sectors such as healthcare and technology while facing stiff competition from Citigroup, which has also been actively recruiting JPMorgan alumni.

Financial Times

City AM

LEADERSHIP

Larger teams mean managers have less time for staff

The Wall Street Journal reports on how managers are overseeing ever-larger teams as companies cut back on middle managers. According to data from research and advisory firm Gartner, there was one manager for every five employees in 2017, rising to one manager for every 15 employees by 2023. And the ratio appears to be growing further, Gartner says. As a result, new strategies are required to run growing teams while employees feel they have to talk up their accomplishments more to ensure busy bosses notice them. HR expert Beth Steinberg says the situation is a “recipe for disaster” with managers now unable to develop staff. “Really the only thing they can do is push the work forward,” she adds.

The Wall Street Journal

HEALTH & SAFETY

Prisons sweat it out in summer

As summer temperatures soar, U.S. prisons are grappling with extreme heat, prompting advocacy groups and legal challenges. Some states, like Virginia and Texas, have attempted to legislate air conditioning measures, but progress has stalled. In Texas, a bill to install climate control systems failed to advance, while Virginia's Governor Glenn Youngkin vetoed a similar proposal, citing costs. Meanwhile, Delaware has allocated $2m for air conditioning at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center. With climate change exacerbating the issue, legal experts predict an increase in lawsuits as conditions worsen.

The Columbian

TECHNOLOGY

Women fear being penalized for using AI

Men are more likely than women to use generative AI, according to a recent paper. Between November 2022 and May 2024, women made up just over two-fifths of AI users, decreasing to under a third when looking at AI usage on smartphones. A meta-analysis of 18 separate studies determined that women were about 20% less likely than men to use generative AI. When questioned about their AI usage, women often expressed concern that using AI would penalize them professionally or open their competency up to question. Rembrand Koning, an associate professor at Harvard Business School and one of the paper co-authors, suggests employers make generative AI usage mandatory so AI learns from both genders equally, reducing the risk that AI exacerbates gender biases or stereotypes.

The Wall Street Journal

How AI is showing up in all aspects of our daily lives

Kelly Phillips Erb writes in Forbes on how artificial intelligence (AI) has become part of everyday life, whether it be through virtual assistants, predictive text, or personal financial and tax services. She notes that 95% of U.S. companies have used AI with ever more leaders asking about how they can effectively integrate AI into their overall corporate strategy. Danny Werfel, strategic advisory board member at alliant and former IRS Commissioner, says the tax space is no different, with accounting firms and the IRS utilizing the technology.

Forbes

Executives offered tailored cybersecurity protection

Cybersecurity concierge services are being offered to wealthy and prominent people as hacking threats rise, Cheryl Winokur Munk writes in the Wall Street Journal. Services range from personalized security assessments, data scrubbing, monitoring of a client’s digital footprint and full-time access to a dedicated team of security professionals. Providers tend to focus on people with assets of at least $5m and many who opt for these services do so after being hacked.

The Wall Street Journal

INTERNATIONAL

U.K. firms shift jobs to South Africa

U.K. businesses are increasingly offshoring skilled jobs to South Africa due to rising employment taxes. The Legends Agency reported a 25% increase in inquiries since the National Insurance contributions rose from 13.8% to 15% in April. Alex Fenton, a director at the agency, noted that many jobs that could go to British talent are now being filled by South African workers. Fenton said: "Entrepreneurs are just... saying, 'I don't want to hire in the U.K. any more. It's incredibly expensive.'" More than 145 U.K. firms have hired over 1,100 remote employees in South Africa since July 2024.

The Sunday Telegraph

Volkswagen Brazil found liable for 'slave labor'

Volkswagen Brazil was found guilty of subjecting workers to conditions akin to slavery from 1974 to 1986 at its Santana do Araguaia ranch. The ruling mandates the company to publicly acknowledge the abuses and pay over $30m in damages. Judge Otávio Bruno da Silva Ferreira described the conditions as meeting the definition of contemporary slave labor. Volkswagen plans to appeal, asserting compliance with labour laws. Federal prosecutor Rafael Garcia called the decision "historic," pointing to the need for accountability in Brazil's dark history of forced labor.

Washingtonpost.com

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