October 2025 Franchise Job Market Report: It’s Complicated.

If October had a relationship status, it’d be “complicated.”

The job market added around 42,000 jobs (thanks, ADP for the data), layoffs hit a 22-year high with 153,000 cuts, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics ghosted us completely (thanks, government shutdown).

So yeah, it’s been a month.

The Macro Mess

With the BLS offline, we had to rely on everyone else’s homework.

• ADP: +42,000 private-sector data
• Challenger: 153,000 layoffs (worst October since 2003)
• Chicago Fed: Unemployment around 4.4%
• Revelio Labs: Losses in government and retail
• Bank of America Institute: Unemployment deposits up 10% year-over-year

Translation?

The economy’s sending mixed signals: not crashing, not sprinting, just nervously checking its reflection before the holidays.

The Franchise Front Line

Franchise operators sit right in the middle of this tug-of-war between demand and cost.

• Leisure & Hospitality: Down again for a third straight month (ADP)
• Trade & Transportation: +47,000 jobs, giving retail and logistics a small bump
• Education & Health Services: +26,000 jobs, a good sign for home-care and fitness franchises

Bottom line: there are more applicants but less certainty. Which means every hire has to matter.

The Indeed Effect: More Applicants, Fewer Seats

Indeed’s latest data confirm the vibe.

• Job-seeker interest in seasonal work up 27% year-over-year (and 50% higher than 2023)
• Seasonal job postings only up 2.7% year-over-year
• The Indeed Job Postings Index: 101.66 (Feb 2020 = 100), barely above pre-pandemic levels and down 1.9% month-over-month

So, more people chasing slightly fewer opportunities.

It’s like a franchise job fair where the line wraps around the block but there’s only one table hiring.

For franchise owners, that means you’re suddenly the prize. The trick is to stand out and move fast.

The Business Draft View

October’s chaos is exactly why smarter, faster, data-driven hiring wins.

• Automated matching cuts time-to-hire by 50%
• Analytics improves candidate quality by 30%
• Omni-channel communication reduces no-shows by 60%

Even when the government can’t give you a jobs report, Business Draft can tell you what’s actually happening in your hiring funnel today, this hour, this candidate.

Because in this economy, good enough means matching smarter, not just hiring faster.

Takeaway

October was messy.

Layoffs went up, hiring slowed down, and the data feed went dark.

But for franchises willing to evolve, that’s an opportunity.

More candidates are looking, costs are rising, and the ones using data to connect faster are going to win.

Because when hiring gets complicated, smart always wins.

And Business Draft? We'll keep providing you with a cost effective solution.