U.S. Jobs Rebound Sharply in August as Employers Add 162,000 Positions

The August increase was notably stronger than the average monthly gain recorded during the previous year. It also represented an improvement from the initial figures reported for the two preceding months. Employment in July was revised from a previously reported decline of 23,000 jobs to an increase of 21,000, while June was revised from a gain of 20,000 jobs to 31,000. Together, the revisions raised employment for June and July by 55,000 positions compared with earlier estimates.

Several industries contributed to the August employment increase. Food services and drinking places recorded one of the largest gains, adding 59,000 jobs during the month. The increase was significantly above the sector's recent average monthly growth.

Local government education also added 42,000 positions, helping reverse a decline reported in the previous month. The increase highlights continued employment activity in education-related public services as the new school year gets underway.

Manufacturing employment increased by 16,000 jobs in August. The sector has experienced gradual improvement since reaching a recent low in December 2025, with machinery manufacturing and fabricated metal products among the areas recording gains.

Health care continued to expand, adding 13,000 jobs during the month. Employment increased in areas including home health care services and hospitals, although the sector's August growth was slower than its recent average.

Construction also remained a source of job creation, adding 22,000 positions. Continued employment growth in construction provides an important indicator for communities and businesses connected to building, infrastructure, housing, and related services.

At the same time, some industries experienced employment declines. Information-sector employment fell by 23,000 jobs, with losses reported across several areas, including computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, publishing, and broadcasting-related businesses. Financial activities employment declined by 11,000 positions.

The mixed performance among industries demonstrates that the overall employment picture does not affect every sector in the same way. While hospitality, education, construction, manufacturing, and health care contributed to growth, some technology-related and financial activities experienced weaker employment conditions.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in August. About 7 million people were unemployed, with both figures showing relatively little change over the year.

The labor-force participation rate edged higher to 61.6%, while the employment-population ratio stood at 59.1%. These measures help provide additional context about how many people are participating in the labor market and how many are employed.

Another notable development was a decline in the number of people working part time for economic reasons. The figure fell by 414,000 to approximately 4.4 million. These workers include people who wanted full-time employment but had their hours reduced or were unable to find full-time positions.

Long-term unemployment remained an important part of the labor-market picture. Approximately 1.9 million people had been unemployed for at least 27 weeks, representing about 27% of all unemployed people.

Wages also continued to rise. Average hourly earnings for private-sector employees increased by 10 cents in August to $37.75. Average hourly earnings were 3.1% higher than they were a year earlier. The average private-sector workweek also edged upward to 34.4 hours.

For workers, wage growth and changes in working hours provide important information about household earning conditions. For employers, they offer insight into labor costs and the availability of workers. Together with hiring and unemployment figures, these measures help provide a broader understanding of the labor market.

The August employment results are particularly relevant as businesses prepare for the final months of the year. Employers in sectors such as hospitality, health care, construction, manufacturing, and education continue to play an important role in overall employment activity.

For California, the national figures provide useful economic context because the state's diverse economy includes many of the industries represented in the report. However, the national employment figures should not be treated as a direct measure of California's individual labor-market performance. State-specific employment and unemployment data are reported separately.

The main takeaway from the August report is that U.S. hiring showed renewed strength after several weaker monthly readings. At the same time, the data remain uneven across industries, and millions of Americans continue to face unemployment or underemployment.

The report therefore presents a labor market that is neither uniformly strong nor uniformly weak. Instead, employment conditions continue to vary depending on industry and individual circumstances. For workers and businesses watching the economy, hiring trends, unemployment, wages, and industry-specific employment changes will remain important indicators as the year progresses.

With August showing a stronger pace of job creation, the latest figures provide a useful starting point for evaluating the direction of the U.S. labor market through the fall.