Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Labor market

Employment Situation — October 2026

Released November 6, 2026 · Bureau of Labor Statistics · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 165,000 in October 2026 to 159,293, +885,000 from a year ago. Prior month: 159,128. Prior periods were revised in 19 series — figures below reflect that.
Payrolls
159,293
▲ +165,000 m/m
· +885,000 y/y
Unemployment
4.1%
▼ −0.1 pp m/m
Avg hourly earnings
$38.00
▲ +0.4% m/m
· +3.1% y/y
Participation
61.9%
▲ +0.1 pp m/m

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (19) — since last report. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
Temporary help services · September 20262,487→2,507▲ +20,600
Temporary help services · August 20262,498→2,513▲ +15,300
Professional and business services · September 202622,482→22,534▲ +52,000
Professional and business services · August 202622,491→22,526▲ +35,000
Average hourly earnings · September 2026$37.81→$37.86▲ +$0.05
Retail trade · September 202615,480→15,495▲ +15,400
Manufacturing · September 202612,652→12,662▲ +10,000
Construction · September 20268,364→8,370▲ +6,000
Total private · September 2026135,717→135,802▲ +85,000
Retail trade · August 202615,474→15,483▲ +8,500
Total nonfarm payrolls · September 2026159,044→159,128▲ +84,000
Manufacturing · August 202612,643→12,649▲ +6,000
Leisure and hospitality · September 202616,969→16,977▲ +8,000
Total private · August 2026135,671→135,724▲ +53,000
and 5 more smaller revisions (all of them are applied to the figures below).

Key figures

Headline →October 2026September 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
159,293159,128▲ +165,000▲ +0.1%▲ +885,000▲ +0.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unemployment rate4.1%4.2%▼ −0.1 pp—▪ ——
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Average hourly earningsREVISED
dollars per hour, private, SA
$38.00$37.86▲ +$0.14▲ +0.4%▲ +$1.15▲ +3.1%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Labor force participation rate61.9%61.8%▲ +0.1 pp—▪ ——
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U-6 underemployment rate
unemployed + marginally attached + part-time for economic reasons
7.9%7.6%▲ +0.3 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 →October 2026September 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total privateREVISED135,961135,802▲ +159,000▲ +0.1%▲ +943,000▲ +0.7%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GovernmentREVISED23,33223,326▲ +6,000▲ 0.0%▼ −58,000▼ −0.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ManufacturingREVISED12,68112,662▲ +19,000▲ +0.2%▲ +78,000▲ +0.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ConstructionREVISED8,3678,370▼ −3,000▼ 0.0%▲ +124,000▲ +1.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Education and health servicesREVISED28,05828,005▲ +53,000▲ +0.2%▲ +525,000▲ +1.9%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Leisure and hospitalityREVISED16,96416,977▼ −13,000▼ −0.1%▲ +16,000▲ +0.1%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Professional and business servicesREVISED22,60422,534▲ +70,000▲ +0.3%▲ +269,000▲ +1.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Retail tradeREVISED15,50115,495▲ +6,000▲ 0.0%▲ +63,300▲ +0.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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

  • Professional and business services: +70,000 on the month — the biggest gain since July 2022.
  • Manufacturing: +78,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since June 2023.
  • Retail trade: +63,300 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since June 2023.
  • Temporary help services: +74,200 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since September 2022.
  • Total private: +943,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since December 2024.
  • Construction: +124,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since February 2025.

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — household survey and labor supply →October 2026September 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Household survey employment163,615163,152▲ +463,000▲ +0.3%▪ ——
Unemployed persons7,0687,109▼ −41,000▼ −0.6%▪ ——
Civilian labor force170,683170,262▲ +421,000▲ +0.2%▪ ——
Not in labor force104,999105,292▼ −293,000▼ −0.3%▪ ——
Employment-population ratio59.3%59.2%▲ +0.1 pp—▪ ——
Unemployed 27 weeks and over1,9631,944▲ +19,000▲ +1.0%▪ ——
Part-time for economic reasons4,8404,501▲ +339,000▲ +7.5%▪ ——
Temporary help servicesREVISED2,5262,507▲ +18,600▲ +0.7%▲ +74,200▲ +3.0%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-11-06 14:22 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.