The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly three times what forecasters expected. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted 56,000. The Wall Street Journal’s forecast was 53,000 and Bloomberg’s was 55,000. July had been a loss of 23,000.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the figures Friday. The unemployment rate did not change.
Where the jobs came from
Schools did much of the work. Local government education added nearly 42,000 jobs as the 2026-27 school year started, since teachers usually drop off payrolls over the summer. Food service added 59,000, construction 22,000 and healthcare 12,000.
Not every sector grew. Information fell by 23,000, with layoffs at companies including Scripps TV and Zillow. Financial activities lost 12,000.
The government number also clashed with private data. ADP’s national employment report, which tracks private payrolls, found only 38,000 jobs added. The Labor Department’s JOLTS report on Tuesday put July job openings at 7.3 million, up slightly from 7.2 million in June. Total separations dropped to 5.1 million from 5.3 million.
The Fed and the White House
The report landed ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this month. CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed a 60 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate increase to 3.75-4.00 percent, up from 49 percent on Thursday.
President Donald Trump responded on Truth Social. “Lower the interest rates because the U.S.A. is a much stronger credit than it was a short time ago!” he wrote. He also stepped up threats to cut off trade with nations the US runs a deficit with if the central bank does not cut.
US stocks slipped despite the strong number. The Nasdaq was down 0.2 percent, the Dow 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 0.3 percent.
Canada’s report went the other way. The economy lost 41,700 jobs, according to Statistics Canada, and unemployment held at 6.4 percent. Tony Stillo, director of Canada Economics at Oxford Economics, said the group expects Canada to keep struggling to create jobs “as mounting headwinds from new US-Canada tariffs, greater uncertainty from a flare-up in the trade war, and the ongoing Iran conflict and a shrinking population weigh on hiring.”
