US Job Growth Chart (Monthly Nonfarm Payrolls)

The change in US nonfarm payrolls was +29K in September 2026, down 104K from +133K in August 2026. A year earlier it was +76K. The free chart below shows its full history since February 1939, with recessions shaded; you can add it to your own website.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · updated

All economic charts · Data: FRED PAYEMS

About the change in US nonfarm payrolls

Job growth is the monthly change in total nonfarm payroll employment, the “jobs number” in the monthly Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It comes from a survey of about 120,000 businesses and government agencies and counts jobs, not people.

Blue bars are months with job gains, orange bars months with losses. Each figure is revised in the two following months and again once a year, so recent months can change. The record loss, in April 2020, was more than 20 million jobs.

US Job Growth by year

YearAverageHighLowDecember / latest
2026 (to Sep)68K214K−156K29K
202510K108K−140K−17K
2024122K237K9K237K
2023210K434K68K154K
2022377K819K100K100K
2021606K942K315K586K
2020−770K4,631K−20,469K−185K
2019165K296K7K127K
2018190K394K60K192K
2017176K223K89K151K
2016194K373K46K225K
2015226K342K96K269K
2014249K336K151K275K
2013192K289K55K55K
2012182K358K77K249K
2011172K314K7K198K
201085K522K−132K81K
2009−420K−4K−824K−249K
2008−296K−4K−750K−694K
200796K224K−31K105K
2006174K306K17K189K
2005211K366K50K162K
2004170K340K60K127K
200310K187K−206K109K
2002−43K115K−151K−151K
2001−144K85K−311K−161K
2000161K484K−42K160K
1999266K418K104K317K
1998254K400K136K373K
1997284K488K−27K324K

Monthly values. The last 30 years are shown; the chart above has the full history since February 1939.

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Please keep the two links in the code visible and unchanged. Data: public-domain US government statistics via FRED, refreshed daily. See the widget guide for all options.

Frequently asked questions

What is the current change in US nonfarm payrolls?

The change in US nonfarm payrolls was +29K in September 2026, down 47K from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What was the highest change in US nonfarm payrolls on record?

Since February 1939, the highest reading was 4,631K in June 2020 and the lowest was −20,469K in April 2020.

Where does this data come from?

The numbers are published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and distributed by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis in FRED (series PAYEMS). They are US government statistics in the public domain. Quotelinks checks for new data every day.

Can I put this change in US nonfarm payrolls chart on my website?

Yes. The chart is free for any website, personal or commercial. Copy the embed code from the section above and paste it into your page; it updates automatically. Please keep the two links in the code visible.

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