Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Labor market

Employment Situation — September 2026

Released October 2, 2026 · Bureau of Labor Statistics · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 29,000 in September 2026 to 159,044, +496,000 from a year ago. Prior month: 159,015. Prior periods were revised in 19 series — figures below reflect that.
Payrolls
159,044
▲ +29,000 m/m
· +496,000 y/y
Unemployment
4.2%
▲ +0.1 pp m/m
· −0.2 pp y/y
Avg hourly earnings
$37.81
▲ +0.1% m/m
· +3.0% y/y
Participation
61.8%
▲ +0.2 pp m/m
· −0.7 pp y/y

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (19) — since last report. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
Temporary help services · August 20262,520→2,498▼ −21,800
Temporary help services · July 20262,513→2,498▼ −15,200
Leisure and hospitality · August 202617,001→16,959▼ −42,000
Professional and business services · August 202622,527→22,491▼ −36,000
Leisure and hospitality · July 202616,939→16,922▼ −17,000
Professional and business services · July 202622,517→22,496▼ −21,000
Retail trade · August 202615,488→15,474▼ −14,100
Government · August 202623,323→23,344▲ +21,000
Construction · August 20268,359→8,353▼ −6,000
Total private · August 2026135,752→135,671▼ −81,000
Government · July 202623,288→23,300▲ +12,000
Retail trade · July 202615,487→15,479▼ −7,600
Manufacturing · July 202612,622→12,628▲ +6,000
Manufacturing · August 202612,638→12,643▲ +5,000
and 5 more smaller revisions (all of them are applied to the figures below).

Key figures

Headline →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total nonfarm payrollsREVISED
thousands of jobs, SA — the m/m change is the payroll gain
159,044159,015▲ +29,000▲ 0.0%▲ +496,000▲ +0.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unemployment rate4.2%4.1%▲ +0.1 pp—▼ −0.2 pp—
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Average hourly earnings
dollars per hour, private, SA
$37.81$37.76▲ +$0.05▲ +0.1%▲ +$1.11▲ +3.0%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Labor force participation rate61.8%61.6%▲ +0.2 pp—▼ −0.7 pp—
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U-6 underemployment rate
unemployed + marginally attached + part-time for economic reasons
7.6%7.7%▼ −0.1 pp—▼ −0.5 pp—
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Average weekly hours34.4034.40▪ 0.00▪ 0.0%▲ +0.20▲ +0.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change for index series, the level for rates and survey indexes over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.
Payrolls by sector →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total privateREVISED135,717135,671▲ +46,000▲ 0.0%▲ +712,000▲ +0.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GovernmentREVISED23,32723,344▼ −17,000▼ −0.1%▼ −216,000▼ −0.9%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ManufacturingREVISED12,65212,643▲ +9,000▲ +0.1%▲ +40,000▲ +0.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ConstructionREVISED8,3648,353▲ +11,000▲ +0.1%▲ +109,000▲ +1.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Education and health servicesREVISED28,00527,985▲ +20,000▲ +0.1%▲ +516,000▲ +1.9%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Leisure and hospitalityREVISED16,96916,959▲ +10,000▲ +0.1%▲ +62,000▲ +0.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Professional and business servicesREVISED22,48222,491▼ −9,000▼ 0.0%▲ +123,000▲ +0.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Retail tradeREVISED15,48015,474▲ +5,800▲ 0.0%▲ +26,500▲ +0.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trend bars show year-over-year % change for index series, the level for rates and survey indexes over the last 13 periods; the latest period is highlighted.

What stood out

  • Average hourly earnings: up 3.0% from a year ago — the slowest pace since May 2021.
  • Professional and business services: +123,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since June 2023.
  • Manufacturing: +40,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since July 2023.
  • Temporary help services: +15,200 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since October 2022.
  • Unemployed persons: −496,000 over the past year — the steepest 12-month decline since January 2023.
  • Retail trade: highest since July 2024 (26 months).

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — household survey and labor supply →September 2026August 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Household survey employment163,152162,746▲ +406,000▲ +0.2%▼ −504,000▼ −0.3%
Unemployed persons7,1097,031▲ +78,000▲ +1.1%▼ −496,000▼ −6.5%
Civilian labor force170,262169,777▲ +485,000▲ +0.3%▼ −999,000▼ −0.6%
Not in labor force105,292105,638▼ −346,000▼ −0.3%▲ +2,328,000▲ +2.3%
Employment-population ratio59.2%59.1%▲ +0.1 pp—▼ −0.5 pp—
Unemployed 27 weeks and over1,9441,930▲ +14,000▲ +0.7%▲ +129,000▲ +7.1%
Part-time for economic reasons4,5014,390▲ +111,000▲ +2.5%▼ −93,000▼ −2.0%
Temporary help servicesREVISED2,4872,498▼ −10,900▼ −0.4%▲ +15,200▲ +0.6%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-10-02 13:22 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.