National unemployment rate
4.1%
+0.0 pt from prior month
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · August 2026 · Official BLS release
Career Dashboard
Career Market Dashboard
Official U.S. labor-market indicators, checked weekly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with plain-English notes on what they mean for a job search.
Official U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data
Data last retrieved: September 26, 2026General labor-market information only. This is not legal, financial, or employment advice.
The latest refresh was unavailable. Showing the last successfully retrieved BLS release.
Official BLS data
Employment snapshot
Labor-force participation
61.6%
+0.2 pt from prior month
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · August 2026 · Official BLS release
Total nonfarm employment
159.1M
+162K from prior month
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · August 2026 · Official BLS release
Job openings rate
4.4%
+0.1 pt from prior month
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · July 2026 · Official BLS release
Hiring rate
3.2%
-0.2 pt from prior month
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · July 2026 · Official BLS release
Quits rate
1.9%
-0.1 pt from prior month
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · July 2026 · Official BLS release
The latest industry refresh was unavailable. Showing the last successfully retrieved BLS release.
Official BLS data
Industry trends
Compare broad U.S. industries using official BLS Current Employment Statistics.
What this shows
Compare how payroll employment changed across broad U.S. industries over the latest 12 months. Percentage change makes differently sized industries easier to compare. Switch to Total employment to compare industry size. These figures describe industry payrolls—not job openings, hiring probability, or a forecast.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Current Employment Statistics · Aug 2025 – Aug 2026 · 12-month percentage change · Retrieved September 26, 2026
View as a table
| Period | 12-month change |
|---|---|
| Education + health servicesSeries CES6500000001 | +2.0% |
| ConstructionSeries CES2000000001 | +1.5% |
| Leisure + hospitalitySeries CES7000000001 | +0.8% |
| Professional + business servicesSeries CES6000000001 | +0.7% |
| ManufacturingSeries CES3000000001 | +0.2% |
| Trade, transportation + utilitiesSeries CES4000000001 | +0.1% |
| Financial activitiesSeries CES5500000001 | -1.1% |
| Information + mediaSeries CES5000000001 | -4.0% |
Insight cards
How to read this data
What a median salary means
Half of workers in the occupation earn more and half earn less. It is not a starting salary or an offer estimate.
How to read projected growth
Projections estimate change in total jobs over ten years. Fast growth in a small occupation can still mean few openings.
Why national data differs locally
Industry mix, cost of living, and employer concentration change what a role pays and how often it opens in your area.
Openings are not hires
Openings count posted, unfilled positions on one day. Hires count people who actually started. They move differently.
Using labor data in a search
Use it to choose targets and set expectations — then rely on conversations with people doing the work today.
Recommended next step
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