Quarterly 2025 Market and Hiring Trends

Q2 Market and Hiring Report Summary

National Snapshot

• The U.S. economy added 191,000 in Q2 of 2025, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• The June unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, a small decrease from May. Since May of 2024, the unemployment rate has stayed between 4.0 percent to 4.2 percent.

California

• While California saw a minor loss of 6,100 jobs in June 2025, the state still recorded a net gain of 101,100 nonfarm jobs over the past twelve months.
• California's unemployment rate in June 2025 remained largely stable at 5.4%, showing only a slight increase of 0.1% from 5.3% in June 2024.

The Bay Area

• The Bay Area reported an unemployment rate of 4.7% in June of 2025, lower than the state average.
• So far in 2025, the Bay Area has claimed the highest portion of total deal value by metro area at 58% according to PitchBook.

DeWinter’s Finance & Accounting Hiring Insights

• Across Q2, our finance and accounting consulting divisions saw high demand for Accounting Directors and Managers, Senior Accountants, and Finance Analysts, Managers, and Directors.

Private Equity’s Mid-Year Outlook

• Despite overall market volatility and trade policy concerns in 2025 making IPO conditions less favorable than anticipated, PE-backed companies are still achieving a strong showing, with their outlook tracking as expected in terms of market share capture.
• PE-backed companies are significantly increasing their share of IPO capital in 2025, exceeding initial predictions and reaching a record high of approximately 56.1%, largely at the expense of non-backed companies, according to recent data from PitchBook.