Jobs Report for August 2026

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its August employment / unemployment report on September 4^th, 2026.

Employment / Unemployment

• Seasonally Adjusted U-3 is 4.1% Unchanged
• Unadjusted U-3 is 4.3% down from 4.4%
• Unadjusted U-6 is 7.8% down from 8.3%
• Labor Force Participation is 61.6% up from 61.4%
• Unadjusted Employment rose from 158.726 million to 158.880 million
• Next Update: October 2nd, 2026

Summary:

The Adjusted U-3 was unchanged for the month, but UNADJUSTED Employment was Down slightly.

According to the BLS Commissioner’s report:

“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in August, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in food services and drinking places and in local government education. The information industry lost jobs…

…education added 42,000 jobs in August, largely offsetting a decrease in the prior month… employment in manufacturing continued its upward trend (+16,000)… The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for June was revised up by 11,000, from +20,000 to +31,000, and the change for July was revised up by 44,000, from -23,000 to +21,000. With these revisions, employment in June and July combined is 55,000 higher than previously reported.“

As usual, they are talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs”.

Looking at the Unadjusted Establishment Survey report, we see…
The BLS is currently reporting a rise from 158.726 million to 158.880 million, or 157,000. But last month they reported employment was 158.649 million, so it actually rose from 158.649 to 158.880 million, or 231,000.

Current Unemployment Rate Chart

Current Employment Chart

BLS: Employment by Sector

The BLS employment “bubble chart” based on the Establishment Survey Data gives us a good picture of the Seasonally-adjusted employment numbers.

The Bubble’s Size tells us the total Employment for that industry (i.e., larger bubbles mean more people are employed in that sector).

The bubble’s location on the chart tells us that there has been a change in Employment Levels over the most recent month… A bubble further to the right indicates larger job growth. A bubble’s vertical location on the chart shows the average industry salary.Looking at the chart above, two sectors actually lost jobs in August: Information (-23,000) and Financial Activities (-11,000). That’s a little hard to ignore when the overall job market was still adding jobs.

The Information sector continues to feel the effects of restructuring, automation, and cost-cutting across tech, media, and telecommunications. Some of this is related to efficiency improvements due to AI, and some firms use AI to justify cuts actually caused by previous overhiring.

Companies in tech, media, and telecom are tending to cut roles that generative AI can now perform such as: customer service, content creation/editing, data entry, basic coding, and some marketing operations.

Financial Activities is dealing with its own headache, as higher interest rates and slower lending and real estate activity have encouraged companies to trim their payrolls.

BLS Average Weekly Wages

BLS Employment Levels by Industry

August 2026, Seasonally Adjusted Employment

Remember, these are Seasonally Adjusted Numbers, so they aren’t cumulative!

Source: BLS

ADP^® National Employment Report

ADP provides an independent (non-government) estimate of private-sector employment and pay, based on data derived from ADP client payrolls. According to ADP®, In collaboration with Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

ADP: Private employers added 38,000 jobs in August

• Private employers posted their slowest pace of job creation since January. Manufacturing, professional services, and information shed jobs. Education and health care, construction, and leisure and hospitality all showed solid hiring.

ADP Private Employment by Establishment Size

ADP Job Gainers / Losers

When broken down further into individual industries, we see that once again, Education and Health were the biggest gainers.

Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate Chart 1948-Present

Less Than Full Employment

This chart compares employment levels with the (inverted) unemployment rate.

Full Employment is when everyone who wants a job has one. It is generally considered to be around 3%. The chart allows us to easily see how far from “full employment” we are.

Note: Full employment is not considered to be at zero percent because even when employers are having difficulty finding employees, some people are still unemployed due to either:

1. Structural unemployment (mismatch between worker skills and job requirements, i.e., not enough training) or
2. Frictional unemployment. There will always be people who have quit or have lost a seasonal job and are in the process of getting a new job.

Seasonally Adjusted U1 through U6 Unemployment Rates

Labor Force Participation Rate

The Labor Force Participation Rate is the percentage of the Non-Institutional Population that makes up the Labor Force.

And the Employment – Population Ratio is the percentage of the Total Population that is Employed.

Employment-Population Ratio

Employment-Population Ratio by Race

Percent Unemployed 27 weeks or Longer

Unemployment by Education

There are a couple of interesting things to note this month.

1. The falling unemployment rate for the uneducated, i.e., less than a High School diploma, perhaps because of the mass deportations of illegals who were previously taking those jobs?

2. The rise in the unemployment rate of those with only a High School diploma, as AI replaces their jobs.