Hiring rebounded in August, but long-term unemployment continued to rise
Below, EPI senior economist Elise Gould offers her insights on the jobs report released this morning. Read the full thread here.
Today’s #jobs data can be considered a solid bounce back to relative weakness in June and July. Job growth has averaged 71k over the last 3 months. Weaker numbers for leisure and hospitality and unusual July losses in local government education employment seems to have resolved in August.
#econsky— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) 7:43 AM · Sep 4, 2026
Leisure and hospitality and state/local government led the job growth for August, following by construction. Information and financial activities reported losses. Federal employment continues to trend down.
#EconSky— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) 7:51 AM · Sep 4, 2026
With August losses, federal employment is now down 336,000 jobs since January 2025. The vital services federal employees provide cannot be done without these essential workers.
#EconSky— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) 7:52 AM · Sep 4, 2026
The preliminary benchmark revisions were out last week, regular BLS communication needed for timely and accurate data. That release suggests there were 79,000 fewer jobs added than originally reported since Trump took office, including 178,000 fewer private sector jobs.
www.bls.gov/news.release…
— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) 7:59 AM · Sep 4, 2026
Nominal wage growth decelerated in August, rising just 3.1% over the year. Slowing nominal wage growth suggests workers don’t have the leverage to bid up their wages. Even with low unemployment, the depressed hires rate means workers aren’t finding new jobs to raise their wages.
#EconSky— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) 8:15 AM · Sep 4, 2026
Even though unemployment held steady, I have continuing concerns about the depressed hires rate. Those who are lucky enough to have a job are sitting tight while new entrants or long-term employed can’t find work. Long-term unemployment has been steadily rising led by those unemployed over a year.
— Elise Gould (@elisegould.bsky.social) 8:37 AM · Sep 4, 2026
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