Hiring accelerated in August, but the latest federal data also show restrained labor turnover, a wider trade gap, lower real hourly compensation and persistent input-price pressure.
The United States enters the shortened Labor Day week with a stronger August payroll headline but a less uniform picture underneath it.
Employers added jobs at a faster pace than they had over the prior year, while a separate federal survey showed hiring and job openings changed little in July. The trade deficit widened sharply, productivity rose, and the Federal Reserve’s regional survey described modest growth alongside continued pressure from energy, transportation and raw-material costs.
Here are five numbers that frame the week before new reports on consumer credit, employer compensation and inflation.
1. Payrolls increased by 162,000 in August
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000 in August, compared with an average monthly gain of 31,000 over the prior 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent.
The gain was concentrated. Food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs and local government education added 42,000. Together, those two categories added 101,000 jobs, equivalent to about 62 percent of the net payroll increase. The information industry lost 23,000 jobs, including declines at computing infrastructure providers, data-processing and web-hosting businesses, publishers, and broadcasters.
BLS also revised June and July upward by a combined 55,000 jobs. The agency cautions that the two headline figures come from different surveys: the payroll change comes from the establishment survey, while the unemployment rate comes from the household survey.
Read The Daily Commerce’s full August employment report.
2. Job openings held at 7.3 million in July
The number of job openings was little changed at 7.3 million in July, while hires and total separations were each about 5.1 million, BLS reported in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
The industry detail was uneven. Openings increased by 76,000 in durable-goods manufacturing, while hires fell by 188,000 in professional and business services. June’s estimate of total job openings was revised down by 177,000 to 7.2 million.
The measures should not be treated as interchangeable. Job openings count positions available on the last business day of the month. Hires and separations count movements during the full month.
3. The trade deficit widened to $88.6 billion
The U.S. goods and services trade deficit increased by $17.4 billion in July to $88.6 billion, up 24.4 percent from June, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau.
Exports fell 2.1 percent to $310.7 billion, while imports rose 2.8 percent to $399.3 billion. The goods deficit widened by $17.6 billion to $119.6 billion, partly offset by a $31.0 billion services surplus.
The monthly increase does not describe the entire year. Through July, the cumulative trade deficit was $188.4 billion, or 29.6 percent, smaller than during the same period in 2025. The monthly figures are seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for price changes.
4. Productivity rose 1.4 percent as real hourly compensation fell
Nonfarm business labor productivity increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 percent in the second quarter, the revised BLS estimate showed. Output rose 1.7 percent while hours worked increased 0.3 percent.
Unit labor costs rose at a 1.2 percent annual rate. Real hourly compensation, which adjusts compensation for consumer prices, fell at a 3.3 percent annual rate during the quarter and was down 0.1 percent from a year earlier.
The labor share of output was 52.8 percent, the lowest reading in a BLS series that begins in 1947. Quarterly annualized changes can be volatile and are revised as more complete source data arrive; BLS revised the second-quarter unit-labor-cost increase down from 1.3 percent.
5. Ten of 12 Federal Reserve districts reported growth
Economic activity grew at a slight-to-moderate pace in 10 of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts, while two reported no change, according to the August Beige Book.
The report said consumer spending grew slightly overall, with greater price sensitivity alongside continued high-end purchases. Manufacturing picked up across most districts, including demand tied to defense and data centers. Employment rose only very slightly, and firms in multiple districts reported elevated costs for energy, transportation, metals and petrochemicals.
The Beige Book is not a statistical release or a statement of Federal Reserve officials’ views. It summarizes information from outside contacts collected on or before August 24.
What comes next
Tuesday brings the Census Bureau’s second-quarter Quarterly Financial Report and the Federal Reserve’s July consumer-credit report. BLS will publish employer compensation data on Wednesday, the August Producer Price Index on Thursday, and the Consumer Price Index and real-earnings report on Friday.
Those releases will test the pattern in the latest data: firmer headline hiring and modest growth, but restrained labor turnover, pressure on worker purchasing power and higher costs across parts of the economy.
Source note: Primary sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Situation — August 2026, Job Openings and Labor Turnover — July 2026, and Productivity and Costs — Second Quarter 2026, Revised; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services — July 2026; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Beige Book — August 2026, National Summary. All were accessed September 7, 2026.
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