US adds jobs in August, beating economic forecasts

Unemployment rate steady as schools and food services lead the surge in US job growth for August.

Public schools and food services led the gains in the US job market [File: Mike Blake/Reuters]

The United States economy has added 162,000 jobs in August, with large gains in local government education and food services.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged, according to the monthly jobs report released by the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Friday.

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The data was well above analysts’ expectations. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 56,000 gains, the Wall Street Journal forecast 53,000, and Bloomberg had forecast 55,000, following a loss of 23,000 in July.

Local government education, or public schools, accounted for nearly 42,000 of the jobs added as the 2026–27 school year begins across much of the US. Teachers typically fall off payrolls during the summer months when school is not in session.

Food service jobs also saw large increases, with the sector adding 59,000 jobs for the month of August compared with the month prior.

There were also gains in construction, which added 22,000 jobs, and healthcare, which added 12,000.

The information sector, which accounts for industries like data processing, web hosting, publishing, broadcasting and telecommunications, fell by 23,000, with notable layoffs at companies including Scripps TV and Zillow, which fall under the umbrella of these industries.

The financial activities sector, which accounts for industries like insurance, commercial banking and real estate, dropped by 12,000.

The data comes in sharp contrast to the ADP national employment report, which tracks private payrolls and found 38,000 jobs added across the US economy.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report released on Tuesday revealed job openings were slightly changed, with 7.3 million in July, up from 7.2 million the previous month, while total separations fell to 5.1 million in July from 5.3 million in June.

The move in job gains comes ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later this month, where the central bank will vote on interest rates. Amid the job gains, CME Group’s FedWatch, which tracks the likelihood of monetary policy decisions, had a 60 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate increase to 3.75–4.00 percent, up from 49 percent on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump was quick to comment on the jobs report and push for rate cuts.

“Lower the interest rates because the U.S.A. is a much stronger credit than it was a short time ago!” he said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

He also ramped up threats to cut off trade with nations that the US has a deficit with if the central bank does not cut rates.

Despite a strong jobs report, US markets are trending downwards. The Nasdaq is down 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.5 percent, and the S&P 500 is down 0.3 percent amid Trump’s comments.

Meanwhile, Canada released its jobs report amid the ongoing trade dispute with the US. The Canadian economy lost 41,700 jobs, according to Statistics Canada, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 6.4 percent.

“We expect the economy will continue struggling to create jobs in the near term 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,” Tony Stillo, director of Canada Economics at Oxford Economics, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera.

8月份，美国学校和餐饮服务业引领就业增长，失业率保持稳定。

美国就业市场中，公立学校和餐饮服务业领涨。[图片：Mike Blake/路透社]

美国经济在8月份新增了16.2万个就业岗位，其中地方政府、教育和食品服务行业增长尤为显著。

根据美国劳工部劳工统计局（BLS）周五发布的月度就业报告，失业率保持不变。

美国劳动力市场7月份就业岗位减少，劳动参与率下滑（共4个列表，此为第1个）

美国收入不平等加剧，CEO薪酬将在2025年飙升（共4项，此列为第2项）

美国债务达到 40 万亿美元（共 4 项）：华盛顿欠谁的债？这为什么重要？

美联储主席警告称通胀进展不足，暗示可能加息（共4条，此为第4条）

该数据远超分析师预期。路透社调查的经济学家此前预测新增就业岗位5.6万个，华尔街日报预测5.3万个，彭博社预测5.5万个，而7月份该行业则损失了2.3万个。

在2026-2027学年开始之际，美国大部分地区的地方政府教育部门（即公立学校）新增了近42000个就业岗位。教师通常在暑假期间（学校放假）停止领取工资。

餐饮服务业的就业岗位也大幅增加，8 月份该行业新增就业岗位 59,000 个，比上月增加 59,000 个。

建筑业也取得了增长，新增就业岗位 22,000 个；医疗保健业也新增就业岗位 12,000 个。

信息行业（包括数据处理、网络托管、出版、广播和电信等行业）的就业人数减少了 23,000 人，其中 Scripps TV 和 Zillow 等公司（均属于这些行业范畴）的裁员尤为引人注目。

金融活动行业（包括保险、商业银行和房地产等行业）的就业人数减少了 12,000 人。

该数据与 ADP 全国就业报告形成鲜明对比，该报告追踪私营部门的工资情况，发现美国经济新增了 38,000 个就业岗位。

与此同时，劳工部周二发布的《职位空缺和劳动力流动调查》（JOLTS）报告显示，职位空缺略有变化，7 月份为 730 万个，高于上月的 720 万个；而离职总人数从 6 月份的 530 万个下降到 7 月份的 510 万个。

就业数据的增长正值美联储本月晚些时候召开政策会议之际，届时美联储将对利率进行投票表决。受就业数据增长的影响，芝加哥商品交易所集团（CME Group）的FedWatch（追踪货币政策决策可能性的指标）预测，美联储加息25个基点至3.75%-4.00%的可能性为60%，高于周四的49%。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普迅速对就业报告发表评论，并力主降息。

他在社交媒体平台 Truth Social 上发帖称：“降低利率吧，因为美国的信用状况比不久前好得多！”

他还加大了威胁力度，称如果央行不降息，美国将切断与存在贸易逆差国家的贸易往来。

尽管就业报告强劲，但美国股市仍呈下行趋势。受特朗普言论的影响，纳斯达克指数下跌0.2%，道琼斯工业平均指数下跌0.5%，标准普尔500指数下跌0.3%。

与此同时，加拿大在与美国的贸易争端持续之际发布了就业报告。加拿大统计局的数据显示，加拿大经济减少了41700个工作岗位，失业率维持在6.4%不变。

牛津经济研究院加拿大经济主管托尼·斯蒂洛在提供给半岛电视台的一份报告中表示：“我们预计，由于美加新关税带来的不利影响不断增加、贸易战升级带来的不确定性加剧、持续的伊朗冲突以及人口萎缩等因素，加拿大经济在短期内仍将难以创造就业机会。”