Payrolls Beat Expectations, with Manufacturing Adding 16,000 Jobs
Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000 in August, coming in above expectations. Meanwhile, June’s job gain was revised upward by 11,000 to 31,000 jobs, while July’s job loss was revised upward by 44,000 to a gain of 21,000 jobs. The 12-month average stands at 50,250 job gains per month. Leisure and hospitality exhibited the largest rise, gaining 62,000 jobs in August. At the same time, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%, while the labor force participation rate ticked up 0.2% to 61.6% but is down from 62.3% in August 2025.
Manufacturing employment added 16,000 jobs in August after gaining 14,000 in July. At the same time, the collective job gains in June and July of 16,000 were revised upward by 11,000 jobs to a gain of 27,000. Manufacturing employment is up 23,000 jobs over the year. Durable goods manufacturing employment rose by 15,000 in August, while nondurable goods employment ticked up by 1,000. The most significant gain in manufacturing in August occurred in machinery manufacturing, which added 6,100 jobs over the month. Meanwhile, the most significant loss occurred in motor vehicle and parts manufacturing, which shed 4,500 jobs over the month.
The employment-population ratio increased 0.2 percentage points from July to 59.1% but is down 0.5 percentage points from a year ago. Meanwhile, the number of employed persons who are part time for economic reasons fell by 414,000 from July to 4.4 million in August and is down from 4.8 million in August 2025. Native-born employment fell by 428,000 from July and 587,000 over the year. Meanwhile, foreign-born employment rose by 294,000 from July but declined 34,000 over the year. At the same time, the native-born unemployment rate stayed the same at 4.6%, while the foreign-born unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage point to 3.4%.
Average hourly earnings for all private nonfarm employees increased 0.3%, or 10 cents, reaching $37.75. Over the past year, earnings have grown 3.1%. In August, the average workweek for all employees moved up 0.1 hour to 34.4 hours and edged up 0.1 hour to 40.5 hours for manufacturing employees.
