Economic Impact Group, LLC Economic Data Brief
 
Labor market

Employment Situation — August 2026

Released September 4, 2026 · Bureau of Labor Statistics · full release · charts & history on EconomicsGuru
Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August 2026 to 159,075, +603,000 from a year ago. Prior month: 158,913. Prior periods were revised in 21 series — figures below reflect that.
Payrolls
159,075
▲ +162,000 m/m
· +603,000 y/y
Unemployment
4.1%
▪ 0.0 pp m/m
· −0.2 pp y/y
Avg hourly earnings
$37.75
▲ +0.3% m/m
· +3.1% y/y
Participation
61.6%
▲ +0.2 pp m/m
· −0.7 pp y/y

Revision check

REVISIONS DETECTED (21) — since last report. Every change below is calculated on the revised figures.
Temporary help services · July 20262,505→2,513▲ +7,700
Retail trade · July 202615,441→15,487▲ +45,900
Temporary help services · June 20262,502→2,508▲ +5,900
Manufacturing · July 202612,611→12,622▲ +11,000
Retail trade · June 202615,460→15,474▲ +13,300
Average hourly earnings · July 2026$37.62→$37.65▲ +$0.03
Government · July 202623,270→23,288▲ +18,000
Construction · July 20268,343→8,337▼ −6,000
Leisure and hospitality · June 202616,971→16,960▼ −11,000
Government · June 202623,323→23,338▲ +15,000
Education and health services · July 202627,962→27,945▼ −17,000
Leisure and hospitality · July 202616,931→16,939▲ +8,000
Total nonfarm payrolls · July 2026158,858→158,913▲ +55,000
Total private · July 2026135,588→135,625▲ +37,000
and 7 more smaller revisions (all of them are applied to the figures below).

Key figures

Headline →August 2026July 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
159,075158,913▲ +162,000▲ +0.1%▲ +603,000▲ +0.4%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unemployment rate4.1%4.1%▪ 0.0 pp—▼ −0.2 pp—
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Average hourly earningsREVISED
dollars per hour, private, SA
$37.75$37.65▲ +$0.10▲ +0.3%▲ +$1.13▲ +3.1%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Labor force participation rate61.6%61.4%▲ +0.2 pp—▼ −0.7 pp—
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U-6 underemployment rate
unemployed + marginally attached + part-time for economic reasons
7.7%7.9%▼ −0.2 pp—▼ −0.4 pp—
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Average weekly hours34.4034.30▲ +0.10▲ +0.3%▲ +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 →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %12-period trend
Total privateREVISED135,752135,625▲ +127,000▲ +0.1%▲ +815,000▲ +0.6%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GovernmentREVISED23,32323,288▲ +35,000▲ +0.2%▼ −212,000▼ −0.9%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ManufacturingREVISED12,63812,622▲ +16,000▲ +0.1%▲ +23,000▲ +0.2%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ConstructionREVISED8,3598,337▲ +22,000▲ +0.3%▲ +120,000▲ +1.5%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Education and health servicesREVISED27,97427,945▲ +29,000▲ +0.1%▲ +539,000▲ +2.0%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Leisure and hospitalityREVISED17,00116,939▲ +62,000▲ +0.4%▲ +131,000▲ +0.8%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Professional and business servicesREVISED22,52722,517▲ +10,000▲ 0.0%▲ +152,000▲ +0.7%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Retail tradeREVISED15,48815,487▲ +1,400▲ 0.0%▲ +47,900▲ +0.3%
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 3.1% from a year ago — the slowest pace since May 2021.
  • Not in labor force: −551,000 on the month — the biggest drop since October 2020.
  • Professional and business services: +152,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since June 2023.
  • Leisure and hospitality: +62,000 on the month — the biggest gain since February 2023.
  • Manufacturing: +23,000 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since September 2023.
  • Temporary help services: +36,200 over the past year — the largest 12-month gain since October 2022.

Full detail

Show every category and subcategory
Full detail — household survey and labor supply →August 2026July 2026M/M chgM/M %Y/Y chgY/Y %
Household survey employment162,746162,177▲ +569,000▲ +0.4%▼ −624,000▼ −0.4%
Unemployed persons7,0316,916▲ +115,000▲ +1.7%▼ −349,000▼ −4.7%
Civilian labor force169,777169,094▲ +683,000▲ +0.4%▼ −973,000▼ −0.6%
Not in labor force105,638106,189▼ −551,000▼ −0.5%▲ +2,387,000▲ +2.3%
Employment-population ratio59.1%58.9%▲ +0.2 pp—▼ −0.5 pp—
Unemployed 27 weeks and over1,9301,771▲ +159,000▲ +9.0%▲ +6,000▲ +0.3%
Part-time for economic reasons4,3904,804▼ −414,000▼ −8.6%▼ −365,000▼ −7.7%
Temporary help servicesREVISED2,5202,513▲ +6,800▲ +0.3%▲ +36,200▲ +1.5%

Sources

Economic Impact Group, LLC
Economic research for developing communities
Prepared 2026-09-04 13:25 UTC. Green marks an increase, red a decrease — direction only, not good or bad.