Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 162,000 in August, far exceeding the 53,000 increase economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
August's total was the strongest monthly gain since March, reversing a summer slowdown in hiring. The report is consistent with what Federal Reserve officials have described as a stable labor market and likely shifts the central bank's focus to next week's inflation numbers ahead of the interest rate decision in less than two weeks.
Stock market futures moved mostly lower after the release, while Treasury yields, particularly at the short end where Fed policy has the greatest impact, rose sharply.
The unemployment rate, which policymakers watch closely for labor market health, is down 0.2 percentage point from a year ago. It held steady even as the labor force participation rate rose 0.2 percentage point. The household survey, used to calculate the unemployment rate, showed employment increasing by 569,000 and the labor force surging by 683,000. An alternative measure of unemployment that includes discouraged workers and those holding part-time jobs for economic reasons fell to 7.7%, down 0.2 percentage point to its lowest level since June 2025.
