US job growth surged in August and the unemployment rate held steady, suggesting the labor market has more momentum than previously thought.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 162,000 last month and July’s job losses were revised away, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Friday. The August increase topped all estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1%.
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The report indicates the labor market is powering through uncertainty from the Iran war and pressure from inflation. Federal Reserve officials will likely read it as bolstering the argument for raising interest rates, though next week’s consumer price data will prove key to the central bank’s decision later this month.
US Treasury yields rose and stock index futures fell as investors upped the odds of a rate increase at the Sept. 15-16 meeting.
The broad advance in payrolls was led by a rebound in leisure and hospitality employment and government jobs.
Manufacturing payrolls rose by the most since 2023, while construction firms added the most jobs since January. Many economists have pointed to the data-center buildout as a driver of demand for construction labor this year.
Local government education added about 42,000 jobs following outsize cuts in July. That category can be volatile in the summer as many teachers fall off of payrolls before returning again as the school year begins.
The participation rate — the share of the population that is working or looking for work — edged up to 61.6% in August, marking the first improvement in almost a year. The increase was concentrated among younger and older workers: Participation for those ages 25 to 54, also known as prime-age workers, was unchanged at 83.4%.
A decline in participation in 2026, partly reflecting an aging population and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, has helped keep the unemployment rate low.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% from July and 3.1% from a year earlier. Economists are paying close attention to how labor supply and demand dynamics are impacting pay, especially with inflation rising faster than wages in recent months.
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