Employers Added 162,000 Jobs in August, Well Above Forecasts
The unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. Economists had expected about 53,000 to 65,000 jobs after a weak July.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000 in August and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, September 4. Forecasters had expected far fewer, with a median estimate of 65,000 compiled by FactSet and about 53,000 in a Dow Jones survey.
The report followed a weak July, when the bureau first estimated a loss of 23,000 jobs. Annual wage growth slowed to about 3.1 percent. The report came 12 days before the Federal Reserve's September 15-16 meeting.
Correction, Oct. 2, 2026. Update: In its October 2 report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised August's job gain down to 133,000.
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