Nonfarm Payrolls
Nonfarm payrolls measures total paid US workers excluding farm, household, and nonprofit employees, drawn from the BLS establishment survey of roughly 670,000 worksites. The headline is the month-over-month change in jobs — a direct read on hiring and firing activity that often moves stocks, bonds, and currencies the moment it lands.
Latest reading
As of May 2026, Payrolls (Monthly change) stands at 172 — down from 192 the prior reading. The economy needs roughly 100K-150K new jobs a month just to keep pace with population growth. Gains above +200K signal robust expansion; readings below +100K or negative prints flag slowdown or contraction. Watch the revisions — initial estimates are frequently revised, sometimes heavily — and the sector breakdown for where the strength or weakness is coming from. Series history runs from 1939 to present.
Monthly change
Next release: Jul 02, 2026
Full history
How to read it
The economy needs roughly 100K-150K new jobs a month just to keep pace with population growth. Gains above +200K signal robust expansion; readings below +100K or negative prints flag slowdown or contraction. Watch the revisions — initial estimates are frequently revised, sometimes heavily — and the sector breakdown for where the strength or weakness is coming from.
Methodology & data
Payrolls is sourced from BLS via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (BLS via FRED (PAYEMS), monthly, seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-06-09. See our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
- Category
- Labor
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Source
- BLS
Related indicators
Frequently asked questions
What is the Nonfarm Payrolls?
Nonfarm payrolls measures total paid US workers excluding farm, household, and nonprofit employees, drawn from the BLS establishment survey of roughly 670,000 worksites. The headline is the month-over-month change in jobs — a direct read on hiring and firing activity that often moves stocks, bonds, and currencies the moment it lands.
How do you read Payrolls?
The economy needs roughly 100K-150K new jobs a month just to keep pace with population growth. Gains above +200K signal robust expansion; readings below +100K or negative prints flag slowdown or contraction. Watch the revisions — initial estimates are frequently revised, sometimes heavily — and the sector breakdown for where the strength or weakness is coming from.
Where does the Payrolls data come from?
BLS via FRED (PAYEMS), monthly, seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/nonfarm-payrolls.csv.
How often is Payrolls updated?
Payrolls is a monthly series from BLS, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.