U.S. jobs report in charts, 2024-2026

The unemployment rate rose from 3.7% in January 2024 to 4.2% in September 2026. Payroll employment reached 159,044 thousand jobs in September 2026, an increase of 29 thousand from August.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures retrieved from the BLS public API on October 19, 2026.

4.2% Unemployment rate in September 2026
+29k Payroll change from August to September 2026
159,044k Total nonfarm payroll employment in September 2026

Unemployment rate

Percent of the labor force, seasonally adjusted. The October 2025 value was not published.

4.5% 4.3% 4.1% 3.9% 3.7% Jan 24 Jun 24 Nov 24 Apr 25 Sep 25 Feb 26 Jul 26 Sep 26 October 2025 not published
Unemployment rate Not published October 2025

Monthly payroll changes

Change in total nonfarm payroll employment from the previous month, in thousands of jobs.

+240 +120 0 -120 -240 Feb 24 Jul 24 Dec 24 May 25 Oct 25 Mar 26 Aug 26 -20 -156 -10
Payroll increase Payroll decrease

The latest two payroll values are preliminary. They are subject to revision.

Source and measures

The unemployment rate uses BLS series LNS14000000 from the Current Population Survey, seasonally adjusted. Payroll employment uses BLS series CES0000000001 from the Current Employment Statistics program, seasonally adjusted and measured in thousands of jobs.

Payroll changes are calculated from consecutive monthly employment values supplied by the BLS. The October 2025 unemployment rate is blank because BLS shows it as not published.