It’s exciting, although maybe not quite as exciting as we originally thought. It’s becoming a little more exciting because payroll employment is doing better than expected. That’s a different metric pointing in a different direction than some of the other indicators. The other indicators were suggesting that things were stable but slow, while this one is saying, “You know, not bad.”
It also looks like the service industry and manufacturing are showing increases, which is interesting. I guess new orders could be part of that story, based on another public release showing that manufacturing new orders are up. Government education also added 42,000 jobs. So, we’ll see where this turns. It is just fun to watch.
Employment Situation – August 2026
- Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in August, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1%.
- Food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs, while local government education added 42,000 jobs.
- Manufacturing employment increased by 16,000 jobs and has risen by 58,000 since December 2025.
- Information employment declined by 23,000 jobs, with losses in computing infrastructure, data processing, web hosting, publishing, and broadcasting.
- Average hourly earnings increased 0.3% in August to $37.75, representing a 3.1% increase over the year.
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