Jobs & Layoffs · Notice
August 2026 jobs report: 162,000 added
Payrolls grew five times the pace of the past year, June and July were revised up by 55,000 between them, and the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. The numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics release, and what was revised.
Employers added 162,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday, September 4. The gain was well above the average monthly increase of 31,000 over the prior 12 months, and the two previous months were revised up as well.
The headline numbers
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000. The number of unemployed people changed little at 7.0 million, and the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent, where it has been, with little movement, for a year.
Average hourly earnings for private-sector employees rose by 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $37.75. The labor force participation rate edged up to 61.6 percent but is down 0.5 percentage point since January. The employment-population ratio was 59.1 percent, little changed over the month or since January.
The revisions
This is the part of a jobs report that gets less attention and often matters more. BLS revises the two prior months in every release as late survey responses arrive.
- June was revised up by 11,000, from a gain of 20,000 to a gain of 31,000.
- July was revised up by 44,000, from a loss of 23,000 to a gain of 21,000.
Between them the revisions added 55,000 jobs to what had been reported for the two months, and turned July from a decline into a small increase. A first estimate is an estimate; the picture of the summer is now three consecutive months of growth rather than a stall.
Where the jobs were
Food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs in August, well above the industry's average monthly gain. Local government education added 42,000. Manufacturing continued its upward trend with 16,000, and health care trended up by 13,000. Information declined by 23,000.
The people behind the rate
The number of long-term unemployed, those out of work for 27 weeks or more, changed little at 1.9 million. The number of people working part time for economic reasons, meaning they wanted full-time work and could not find it or had their hours cut, fell by 414,000 to 4.4 million.
What it does not say
An aggregate report says nothing about which employers cut staff. That comes from the filings: an 8-K Item 2.05 when a public company commits to a restructuring, and a WARN notice with the state when a site closes or a large layoff is announced. The layoffs tracker reads the first kind and the WARN notices tracker links the second. Anyone who was part of a cut this summer should start with the first 30 days after a layoff, because unemployment benefits run from the week the claim is filed, not from the last day of work.
Next
The September report is scheduled for Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.
What to do
- Read the release itself; the summary tables A and B carry the household and payroll figures by industry and by group. Official link
- If you were laid off, file the unemployment claim in the state where you worked the week it happens; benefits run from the week of filing. Official link
- Check the layoffs tracker for the company-level filings behind the aggregate. Official link
Questions readers ask
- Why does the jobs report get revised?
- The payroll figure comes from a survey of employers, and late responses keep arriving after the first estimate. BLS publishes revisions for the two prior months in each release, and a further benchmark revision once a year. August’s release moved June up by 11,000 and July up by 44,000.
- Why can payrolls rise while the unemployment rate stays the same?
- The two numbers come from different surveys. Payrolls count jobs reported by employers; the unemployment rate comes from a survey of households. When the labor force grows at about the pace of hiring, the rate holds even as jobs are added.
- When is the next jobs report?
- Friday, October 2, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, covering September. BLS publishes the full-year schedule in advance.
Filed under: Layoffs 2026: what companies told the SEC, WARN notices by state
Mentioned:U.S. Department of Labor
How we reported this
Built from 2 primary documents linked in the Source Card. Every number was copied from the document, not from another outlet.
Written by Mirza Seraj Baig · Checked against the documents in the source card (editorial standards).