United States: Employment jumps in August
Latest reading: The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August 2026, the largest increase in five months, following an upwardly revised gain of 23,000 in July and well above market expectations of 56,000.
Employment increased in food services and drinking places and in local government education. Manufacturing employment continued to trend higher, with gains in machinery manufacturing and fabricated metal product manufacturing. Health care employment also continued to rise, led by increases in home health care services and hospitals. In contrast, employment in the information sector declined.
Panelist insight: Digging into the data, TD Economics’ Thomas Feltmate said:
“This is the strongest pace of job expansion in five months, punctuated by also being three times greater than expected and the positive upward revisions to prior months. The three-and-six month moving averages are now 70k and 107k, respectively – slightly higher than the breakeven rate. And while we could argue that some of last month’s strength in leisure & hospitality and local government were likely overstated, the breadth of hiring was solid, rising to a 20-month high!”