US Nonfarm Payrolls (Employment Situation)

Released on the first Friday of almost every month at 8:30 AM ET, the Employment Situation combines the Establishment Survey of nonfarm payrolls and workweek hours with the Household Survey unemployment rate. In October 2026, average hourly earnings rose 3.1% year-over-year while August–September payrolls were revised up by 84,000. US Nonfarm Payrolls holds #2 right behind US CPI (#1) and just ahead of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (#3) as the premier hard-data benchmark of real-economy labor demand. Because Congress mandates the Federal Reserve (#4) to balance price stability against maximum employment, any sharp break in monthly payroll additions or jump in the U-3 unemployment rate can override sticky inflation and force faster rate cuts—making Jobs Friday the only monthly data release rivaling CPI (#1) in instant Treasury, S&P 500 futures, and dollar volume. It ranks one notch below CPI (#1) in 2026 because inflation stayed above the Fed’s 2.0% goal while employment largely kept pace with workforce growth (+84,000 upward two-month revisions and $32.75 nonsupervisory hourly pay in October 2026), keeping inflation surprises slightly more decisive than steady payroll prints.