The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its July
employment / unemployment report on August 7th, 2026.
Employment / Unemployment
- Seasonally Adjusted U-3 is 4.1% down from 4.2%
- Unadjusted U-3 is 4.4% Unchanged
- Unadjusted U-6 is 8.3% up from 8.2%
- Labor Force Participation is 61.4% down from 61.5%
- Unadjusted Employment fell from 159.748 million to 158.649 million
- Next Update: September 4th, 2026
Summary:
Despite the Adjusted U-3 Unemployment Rate being DOWN, this report is weaker than the headline unemployment rate suggests. Although the decline in unemployment looks encouraging at first glance, but actual employment (not the employment percentage rate) is down by -1. 18 million based on the original reported numbers or -1.099 million based on current numbers.
According to the Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
“Both total nonfarm payroll employment (-23,000) and the unemployment rate (4.1 percent) changed little in July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment continued to trend up in health care. …
… In July, the number of people jobless less than 5 weeks edged down to 2.0 million and is down by 344,000 over the year. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) edged down over the month to 1.8 million but changed little over the year. The long-term unemployed accounted for 25.5 percent of all unemployed people in July.”
As usual, they are talking about “Seasonally Adjusted Jobs”.
Looking at the Unadjusted Establishment Survey report, we see…
The BLS is currently reporting employment of 158.649 million. Last month, the BLS reported employment of 159.830 million for June, which they have adjusted down to 159.748 million a decrease of -82,000. Original May numbers were 159.467 million, adjusted to 159.386 million, a decrease of –81,000. But based on the revised numbers, employment is still up by 382,000 since July 2025.