U.S. Unemployment Rate & Jobs Report
Latest data: September 12, 2026 · Updated automatically from official sources
The health of the labor market shows up across a handful of series that don’t always move together. The unemployment rate can hold steady while labor-force participation shifts, and job openings can cool well before layoffs rise. This page tracks the key numbers from the monthly Employment Situation report (the “jobs report”), the JOLTS job openings survey and the weekly jobless claims report side by side.
Latest readings
- Unemployment Rate was 4.1% as of August 2026, unchanged from the prior reading, versus 4.3% a year earlier — the lowest since January 2025.
- Nonfarm Payrolls was 159.08M as of August 2026, up 0.1% from the prior reading and up 0.4% from a year earlier — the highest reading since records in this series began in 1939.
- Participation Rate was 61.6% as of August 2026, up 0.2 percentage points from the prior reading, versus 62.3% a year earlier.
- Job Openings was 7.27M as of July 2026, up 1.2% from the prior reading and up 2.6% from a year earlier.
- Avg. Hourly Earnings was up 3.1% year over year in August 2026, compared with 3.2% in the prior period and 4.0% a year earlier — the lowest since May 2021.
- Initial Jobless Claims was 196,000 as of Sep 12, 2026, down 4.9% from the prior reading and down 24.3% from a year earlier.
Unemployment rate
Nonfarm payroll employment
Labor force participation rate
Job openings (JOLTS)
Wage growth
Initial jobless claims
Recent readings
| Period | Unemployment rate | Change | Payrolls (thousands) | Participation rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2026 | 4.1% | 0.00 pp | 159.08M | 61.6% |
| July 2026 | 4.1% | -0.10 pp | 158.91M | 61.4% |
| June 2026 | 4.2% | -0.10 pp | 158.89M | 61.5% |
| May 2026 | 4.3% | 0.00 pp | 158.86M | 61.8% |
| April 2026 | 4.3% | 0.00 pp | 158.80M | 61.8% |
| March 2026 | 4.3% | -0.10 pp | 158.65M | 61.9% |
| February 2026 | 4.4% | +0.10 pp | 158.44M | 62.0% |
| January 2026 | 4.3% | -0.10 pp | 158.59M | 62.1% |
| December 2025 | 4.4% | -0.10 pp | 158.43M | 62.4% |
| November 2025 | 4.5% | +0.10 pp | 158.45M | 62.5% |
| September 2025 | 4.4% | +0.10 pp | 158.55M | 62.5% |
| August 2025 | 4.3% | 0.00 pp | 158.47M | 62.3% |
| July 2025 | 4.3% | — | 158.54M | 62.2% |
Key statistics
| Indicator | Latest | Year ago | 5-yr avg | Long-run avg | Record high | Record low | Data since |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment Rate | 4.1% | 4.3% | 4.0% | 5.7% | 14.8% (Apr 2020) | 2.5% (May 1953) | 1948 |
| Nonfarm Payrolls | 159.08M | 158.47M | 155.87M | 93.89M | 159.08M (Aug 2026) | 29.92M (Jan 1939) | 1939 |
| Participation Rate | 61.6% | 62.3% | 62.3% | 62.8% | 67.3% (Jan 2000) | 58.1% (Dec 1954) | 1948 |
| Job Openings | 7.27M | 7.09M | 8.85M | 5.51M | 12.30M (Mar 2022) | 2.23M (Jul 2009) | 2000 |
| Avg. Hourly Earnings (YoY) | 3.1% | 4.0% | 4.4% | 3.2% | 8.1% (Apr 2020) | 0.6% (Apr 2021) | 2007 |
| Initial Jobless Claims | 196,000 | 259,000 | 222,307 | 359,168 | 6,137,000 (Apr 2020) | 162,000 (Nov 1968) | 1967 |
Two surveys, one jobs report
The monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics combines two separate surveys, which is why its numbers occasionally seem to contradict each other:
- The household survey (Current Population Survey) asks about 60,000 households about their work status. It produces the unemployment rate and the participation rate.
- The establishment survey (Current Employment Statistics) samples payroll records from roughly 120,000 businesses and government agencies. It produces nonfarm payrolls and average hourly earnings.
The report is normally released at 8:30 a.m. Eastern on the first Friday of the month, covering the previous month. Payroll figures are revised in each of the following two months and again in an annual benchmark revision.
Who counts as unemployed?
To be counted as unemployed, a person must be without a job, available to work, and have actively looked for work in the past four weeks (or be waiting to return from a temporary layoff). People who want a job but have stopped looking are not counted as unemployed — they are outside the labor force. That is why the participation rate matters: a falling unemployment rate is a stronger signal when participation is steady or rising than when people are dropping out of the labor force.
Reading openings and jobless claims
Job openings from the JOLTS survey measure unfilled positions employers are actively recruiting for. A high ratio of openings to unemployed workers signals a tight labor market and usually faster wage growth. JOLTS is released about five weeks after the month it covers.
Initial jobless claims count new applications for unemployment insurance each week and are released every Thursday. Because they arrive weekly with only a few days’ lag, claims are one of the timeliest signals of layoffs — a sustained rise has historically accompanied the start of recessions.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next jobs report released?
The Employment Situation report is usually released on the first Friday of each month at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. This page updates automatically once the new data are published.
What is a "good" unemployment rate?
Economists generally consider an unemployment rate around 4% to 4.5% to be close to “full employment” for the United States, though estimates change over time. Rates well below that tend to coincide with rapid wage growth; rates rising quickly have historically signaled recessions.
Why do payroll numbers get revised?
Not every business responds to the survey before the first estimate is published. As more responses arrive over the next two months, BLS revises the figures, and once a year it benchmarks the series to near-complete tax records.
Related data
Data are retrieved automatically from the original statistical agencies (via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED database) and may be revised by the source. Year-over-year changes are calculated by econHQ. See About & methodology for details.