Unemployment · August 2026
Unchanged in August. About 7.0 million people were unemployed. Payroll employment rose by 162,000. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, August 2026, released 4 September 2026. July and August payroll changes are preliminary.
Seasonally adjusted. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, extracted 30 September 2026.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| March | 4.3% |
| April | 4.3% |
| May | 4.3% |
| June | 4.2% |
| July | 4.1% |
| August | 4.1% |
Departments
A 4.1 percent national rate does not tell you which applicant can do the work. It tells you the market they are hiring into. The work-fit is still $50 a person, or $95 with one practice exam.
Job seekers
A national rate is not a hiring decision about you. Career Fit is $199: fifty questions, unlimited matches, and two years of ZIP jobs. You still apply on the employer's posting.
Seasonally adjusted rates from the same 4 September release. Little change on the month except where the release says otherwise.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Adult men | 4.0% |
| Adult women | 3.5% |
| White | 3.7% |
| Black | 6.0% |
| Hispanic | 4.8% |
| Asian | 3.2% |
| Teenagers | 14.1% |
Long-term unemployed, 27 weeks or more: 1.9 million, 27.0 percent of the unemployed. Labor force participation edged up to 61.6 percent and is down 0.5 point since January. Employment-population ratio: 59.1 percent. Part time for economic reasons: 4.4 million, down 414,000. People not in the labor force who want a job: 5.7 million. Marginally attached: 1.7 million. Discouraged workers: 441,000.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| March | +214,000 |
| April | +148,000 |
| May | +63,000 |
| June | +31,000 |
| July, preliminary | +21,000 |
| August, preliminary | +162,000 |
In August, food services and drinking places added 59,000. Local government education added 42,000. Manufacturing continued up by 16,000. Health care added 13,000, including home health care services up 11,000 and hospitals up 8,000. Information lost 23,000. Construction changed little, up 22,000. Average hourly earnings for all private employees rose 10 cents, to $37.75, and are up 3.1 percent over the year.
August 2026, seasonally adjusted, preliminary for the states. Released 18 September 2026. South Dakota was lowest at 2.0 percent. The District of Columbia was highest at 5.7 percent. Ohio, at 3.3 percent, set a new series low. State series begin in 1976. This chart is only the states in Table A of that release, the ones BLS called significantly different from the U.S. figure of 4.1 percent. It is not a homemade ranking of the other states.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| South Dakota | 2.0% |
| North Dakota | 2.2% |
| Vermont | 2.6% |
| Hawaii | 2.7% |
| New Hampshire | 2.8% |
| Nebraska | 2.9% |
| Wyoming | 3.0% |
| Georgia | 3.2% |
| Iowa | 3.2% |
| Maine | 3.2% |
| Montana | 3.2% |
| Wisconsin | 3.2% |
| Indiana | 3.3% |
| Ohio | 3.3% |
| Alabama | 3.4% |
| Mississippi | 3.4% |
| Tennessee | 3.4% |
| North Carolina | 3.5% |
| Utah | 3.5% |
| United States | 4.1% |
| Arizona | 4.9% |
| Washington | 4.9% |
| Michigan | 5.0% |
| California | 5.1% |
| Connecticut | 5.1% |
| Oregon | 5.1% |
| District of Columbia | 5.7% |
| State | July | August | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 5.9% | 5.7% | -0.2 |
| Florida | 4.6% | 4.5% | -0.1 |
| Louisiana | 4.4% | 4.2% | -0.2 |
| Maryland | 4.2% | 4.1% | -0.1 |
| Mississippi | 3.6% | 3.4% | -0.2 |
| Nevada | 5.0% | 4.8% | -0.2 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 3.7% | -0.2 |
| Virginia | 3.7% | 3.6% | -0.1 |
| Washington | 5.0% | 4.9% | -0.1 |
Rates were lower in 8 states and the District and stable in 42 states. Over the year, 14 states and the District decreased, 10 states increased, and 26 states had little change. The largest over-the-year decreases were New Jersey, down 1.2 points, and Ohio, down 1.1. The largest increases were Connecticut, up 1.0 point, and Oklahoma, up 0.9. Payroll employment rose in California, Wisconsin, South Carolina, and New Mexico. Over the year the largest payroll gains were Texas, up 159,400, California, up 138,500, and North Carolina, up 65,600. The only over-the-year job loss in that significant set was the District, down 27,000, or 3.6 percent.
42 questions in this section
No question in this section matches. The search did not leave the section.
Departments
4.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, unchanged on the month. About 7.0 million people were unemployed. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, August 2026, released 4 September 2026.
Departments
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000. That figure is preliminary. The prior twelve months had averaged a gain of about 31,000.
Departments
Yes. June was revised up by 11,000, from plus 20,000 to plus 31,000. July was revised up by 44,000, from minus 23,000 to plus 21,000. June and July together are 55,000 higher than first reported.
Job seekers
No. It is the share of the labor force without a job and actively looking, for the whole country. Your application is still one posting, one employer, one decision.
Departments
61.6 percent. It edged up on the month and is down 0.5 percentage point since January. The employment-population ratio was 59.1 percent.
Departments
1.9 million had been jobless for 27 weeks or more. That was 27.0 percent of the unemployed. The count changed little on the month.
Job seekers
You are in the long-term unemployed group if the stretch is 27 weeks or more. In August that group was 1.9 million people. The national count does not rank you. A work sample is a separate page.
Departments
It fell by 414,000, to 4.4 million. These are people who wanted full-time hours and were short of them because hours were cut or full-time work was not available.
Job seekers
The August release says 5.7 million people not in the labor force wanted a job. They are not counted as unemployed if they did not actively look in the last four weeks or could not take a job. Marginally attached workers were 1.7 million. Discouraged workers were 441,000.
Departments
6.0 percent, seasonally adjusted. The release said the rate showed little change on the month. It is a group rate, not a hiring score.
Departments
Adult men 4.0 percent. Adult women 3.5 percent. White workers 3.7 percent. Hispanic workers 4.8 percent. Asian workers 3.2 percent, a decline on the month. Teenagers 14.1 percent, edged up.
Job seekers
The teenage unemployment rate edged up to 14.1 percent in August. That is the group rate. It is not a prediction for one application.
Departments
Food services and drinking places added 59,000. Local government education added 42,000. Manufacturing continued up by 16,000. Health care added 13,000, including home health care services up 11,000 and hospitals up 8,000. Information lost 23,000. Construction changed little, up 22,000.
Job seekers
Health care added 13,000 on the month, slower than its prior-year pace of about 32,000 a month. A sector gain is not an offer. You still apply to a named posting.
Departments
They rose 10 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $37.75 for all private employees. Over the year they are up 3.1 percent. Production and nonsupervisory employees were at $32.53. The private workweek edged up to 34.4 hours.
Departments
The Employment Situation for September 2026 is scheduled for Friday, 2 October 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Until that release, August is the figure on this page.
Departments
3.3 percent, seasonally adjusted, preliminary. BLS listed Indiana in Table A as significantly different from the U.S. rate of 4.1 percent. State Employment and Unemployment, released 18 September 2026.
Departments
South Dakota, at 2.0 percent, then North Dakota at 2.2 percent. Both are in the 18 September state release and are preliminary.
Departments
The District of Columbia, at 5.7 percent. That is the high mark BLS stated in the 18 September release. It is not a rank I built from the other states.
Departments
BLS said the Ohio rate, 3.3 percent in August 2026, set a new series low. State series begin in 1976. Indiana was also 3.3 percent. BLS named the series low for Ohio, not for Indiana.
Departments
The District of Columbia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, each down 0.2 point, and Florida, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, each down 0.1 point. Forty-two states were not notably different on the month.
Job seekers
Virginia's rate moved from 3.7 percent in July to 3.6 percent in August, a 0.1 point decline BLS called statistically significant. The figure is preliminary. It does not place you.
Departments
BLS called the gains significant in California, up 39,400; Wisconsin, up 11,800; South Carolina, up 10,800; and New Mexico, up 5,500. Forty-six states and the District were essentially unchanged on the month.
Departments
Among the significant changes, Texas added 159,400, California 138,500, and North Carolina 65,600. The largest percentage gains were Louisiana, New Mexico, and South Carolina, each up 1.6 percent. The District lost 27,000 jobs, or 3.6 percent.
Job seekers
The chart shows only the states in Table A of the 18 September release, the ones BLS said were significantly different from the U.S. rate. A state can have a published rate and still be left off that table. This desk does not fill the gap with an uncopied number.
Departments
Monthly. The August state release was 18 September 2026. The September state release is scheduled for 20 October 2026. This page does not invent a weekly state rate.
Departments
BLS marks the U.S. rate in the state Table A as not preliminary. State rates in that table are preliminary. Household and payroll figures still get later revisions, as June and July payrolls did.
Job seekers
No. A state rate is everyone in that labor force. An employer reading your file is looking at one person. Career Fit is the work sample, not a reprint of the state rate.
Departments
No. South Dakota at 2.0 percent still hires people who cannot do the job in front of them. The rate is the market. The work-fit is the person. Offices pay $50 a person, or $95 with one practice exam.
Departments
The household survey produces the unemployment rate and counts people by where they live. The establishment survey produces payroll jobs by where the workplace is. Both are in the 4 September Employment Situation.
Job seekers
Information employment declined by 23,000 in August, after losses that had averaged 8,000 a month. That is a sector total. It is not a finding about your skills. Read the work you are good at, then look at postings.
Departments
5.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, preliminary. BLS listed California in Table A as significantly different from the U.S. rate of 4.1 percent. Over the year the California rate fell 0.4 point, from 5.5 percent.
Departments
It rose 1.0 percentage point, from 4.1 percent in August 2025 to 5.1 percent in August 2026. BLS named that increase, and Oklahoma's 0.9 point rise, as the two largest over-the-year increases.
Departments
New Jersey, down 1.2 percentage points from August 2025 to August 2026. Ohio was next, down 1.1 points, and that 3.3 percent rate set a series low.
Job seekers
4.5 percent in August, down from 4.6 percent in July. BLS called that 0.1 point move statistically significant. The figure is preliminary. It is not a decision on your application.
Departments
4.8 percent, down from 5.0 percent in July. BLS called the 0.2 point decline statistically significant. Preliminary.
Job seekers
The rate moved from 3.9 percent in July to 3.7 percent in August, a 0.2 point decline BLS called statistically significant. Preliminary. You still apply to a posting.
Departments
It means BLS put that state in Table A of the 18 September release. This desk does not run its own significance test and does not add states BLS left off that table.
Departments
No. The metropolitan release for August 2026 was scheduled for 30 September 2026. This page does not copy a metro rate until that figure is written here with the release date.
Job seekers
That is the August payroll change for the industry, well above its prior-year monthly pace of about 12,000. It is not a list of restaurants with an opening. Use a posting, not the industry total.
Departments
It added 42,000 in August, largely offsetting a decrease the month before. BLS said local government education has shown little net change since January 2025. Do not brief one month as a hiring boom.
Job seekers
Read it as the market, then sit Career Fit if you want a path, and use the ZIP list. The 4.1 percent rate will not choose the posting. You will.