US nonfarm payrolls (Employment Situation): August 2026 data
Why it matters
Nonfarm payrolls set the market’s read on US labour-market heat — repricing Fed cuts, the dollar and euro-area yields within minutes of release.
What to watch
- Headline payrolls versus consensus and the prior two months’ revisions.
- Unemployment rate and wage growth (average hourly earnings).
- Fed-pricing and EUR/USD reaction, and read-across to euro-area yields.
Result captured
US nonfarm payrolls, August: +162,000 jobs; unemployment rate 4.1%. Source: BLS Employment Situation release.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 162,000 in August. The revisions carry more information than the headline this month: July's reported -23,000 became +21,000 and June was raised 11,000, so the prior two months were 55,000 stronger than first published. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%.
Briefing
A rebound to +162,000 payrolls after July's contraction signals the US labour market has steadied, removing near-term pressure for aggressive Fed easing and keeping the dollar supported against a backdrop of persistent European growth weakness.
Sources
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