Yesterday was Memorial Day, an opportunity to reflect on the sacrifices military personnel have made throughout the nation’s history. This solemn observance began at the end of the American Civil War as a day to lay flowers at soldiers’ graves and was designated as a national holiday in 1971. We have data on service member deaths ranging from the 1700s up to the current war in Iran for insight into how warfare and other factors have affected US soldiers.

• Historical records from the Department of Veterans Affairs show that approximately 1.2 million service members died between 1775 and 1991. More detailed recordkeeping on active-duty military deaths began in 1980. Since then, the military has recorded 63,670 deaths of active-duty military members, 84.0% of which were due to accidents, illness, and suicide or self-inflicted wounds.

• Suicide or self-inflicted injury has become the most common cause of death for active-duty military members. Of the 826 non-hostile military deaths in 2025, 322 service members died from suicide or self-inflicted injury. That was nearly 40% from 231 deaths in 1980.
   

• The US began Operation Epic Fury in Iran on February 28. As of May 13, thirteen US service members have died in the operation: seven died from hostile action (meaning due to a combat mission or while traveling to/from one), six died in a helicopter crash that was not due to hostile or friendly fire.
  
  

• As of this month, the global war on terror — which began in October 2001 — has led to 7,073 military deaths. Another 53,560 service members have been wounded.  
  
  

• World War II was the deadliest conflict in US history. Approximately 405,400 American service members died, and another 670,800 were injured. That’s about 41% of US military casualties (wounded and dead) in major conflicts from 1775 to 1991. 

How many jobs did the US add last month?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) monthly jobs report shows that the nation added about 115,000 jobs in April, below the monthly average of 239,800 over the last five years. We’ve just updated our site with the newest state and metro job data, so let’s take a look at the numbers.

• The BLS organizes and reports employment data by grouping industries into very broad categories called supersectors. Last month, the supersectors with the highest job growth were professional and business services (7,000 jobs added), and mining and logging (3,000 jobs). Meanwhile, the information supersector lost 13,000 jobs, financial activities lost 11,000, and the government lost 8,000.

• The US has gained an average of 20,900 jobs monthly from April 2025 to this past April. For comparison, the nation added an average of 79,600 jobs per month from April 2024 to April 2025.
   

• The US gained jobs in 54 out of 60 months spanning May 2021 to April 2026. The most gains were in July 2021 (942,000 jobs added), while job growth was weakest in February 2026 (a loss of 156,000 jobs).
  
  

• Forty-two states and Washington, DC, gained jobs last month. Florida gained the most, 40,500, while New York lost the most: 10,600. Don’t forget to check the data on your state and metro area on our site!
   

• The BLS often revises these figures months after they’re first reported. Here’s why.

On Friday, Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new policy stipulating that most foreigners seeking green cards must return to their home country before applying. Learn about the number of green cards the US issues.

The House of Representatives recently passed an amended version of a housing affordability bill that the Senate passed months ago. The Senate would need to approve the changes in the bill for it to pass. See the trends in housing affordability nationwide.

Don’t forget to take the weekly facts quiz!

There are many ways to assess the housing market, one of which is the home vacancy rate. This is the share of habitable homes that are not occupied as permanent residences. Maine had the nation’s highest gross vacancy rate in 2024: 20.6%. Vermont was second highest at 18.9%, and Alaska was third (17.5%). Connecticut had the lowest at 5.6%.