Macro Release Desk

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · data retrieved October 15, 2026

Indicator brief · CES0000000001

How many jobs did the U.S. economy add last month?

U.S. nonfarm payroll employment changed by +29 thousand in September 2026 (preliminary), seasonally adjusted, per the BLS establishment survey. Total payrolls stand at 159.0 million jobs.

Reference period September 2026 (preliminary) · retrieved from the agency on October 15, 2026 · next release November 6, 2026, 08:30 ET

Latest print · September 2026

+29k jobs

3-month average
+51k
12-month average
+41k
Total employment
159.04m
I.

What the latest numbers show

  1. Average monthly change: +51k over 3 months, +66k over 6 months, and +41k over 12 months. Over the past year payrolls changed by +496 thousand in total.
  2. 7 of the last 24 monthly changes were negative.
  3. The two most recent months are preliminary and will be revised in the next two monthly reports; the annual benchmark revision arrives with the January data each February.
II.

History

Monthly change in U.S. nonfarm payrolls (thousands)Monthly change in total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, last 48 months to Sep 2026. Latest: 2026-09 29k.-200020040060020222023202420252026
Monthly change in total nonfarm employment, seasonally adjusted, last 48 months to Sep 2026. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved October 15, 2026.

Recent observations

MonthLevel (k)Change (k)
Sep 2026 (p)159044+29
Aug 2026 (p)159015+133
Jul 2026158882−10
Jun 2026158892+31
May 2026158861+63
Apr 2026158798+148
Mar 2026158650+214
Feb 2026158436−156
Jan 2026158592+160
Dec 2025158432−17
Nov 2025158449+41
Oct 2025158408−140
Sep 2025158548+76
 (p) = preliminary, subject to revision. Values as published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; computed columns are ours.
III.

What it measures

Nonfarm payrolls count the number of paid jobs on the payrolls of U.S. businesses and government agencies, excluding farm workers, private household employees and the self-employed. The figure comes from the Current Employment Statistics (establishment) survey.

The headline number is the month-over-month change in seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment (BLS series CES0000000001).

IV.

How and when it is published

The CES survey samples more than 100,000 businesses and government agencies covering several hundred thousand worksites. Estimates are revised twice in the following months as more responses arrive.

Once a year, the March level is benchmarked to unemployment-insurance tax records, which can shift the level by several hundred thousand jobs.

Next scheduled release: November 6, 2026 at 08:30 ET (release calendar).

V.

Sources

VI.

Related