U.S. jobs: monthly gains and losses
How many jobs U.S. employers added or cut each month, and the unemployment rate, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report.
Built by the Tribune's code from official data. No AI wrote this page. Latest data: September 2026. Updated each month after BLS publishes the jobs report, usually the first Friday.
Unemployment rate
Hover over or tap the chart to see each month's figure.
U.S. employers added 29,000 jobs in September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the unemployment rate was 4.2%.
Over the 12 months through September 2026, payrolls grew by 496,000 jobs; a year earlier, the unemployment rate was 4.4%.
Job figures are from the survey of employers and are revised in the following two months; the unemployment rate is from the survey of households. Both are seasonally adjusted.
| Year | Jobs added | Unemployment |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +1.5 million | 4.0% |
| 2023 | +2.5 million | 3.6% |
| 2022 | +4.5 million | 3.6% |
| 2021 | +7.3 million | 5.4% |
| 2020 | −9.2 million | 8.1% |
| 2019 | +2.0 million | 3.7% |
| 2018 | +2.3 million | 3.9% |
| 2017 | +2.1 million | 4.4% |
| 2016 | +2.3 million | 4.9% |
| 2015 | +2.7 million | 5.3% |
| 2014 | +3.0 million | 6.2% |
| 2013 | +2.3 million | 7.4% |
| 2012 | +2.2 million | 8.1% |
| 2011 | +2.1 million | 8.9% |
| 2010 | +1.0 million | 9.6% |