Jobs report
The August 2020 jobs report in charts
Employers added 1,566,000 jobs in August 2020, by the latest estimate, after adding 1,584,000 in July 2020. Over the 12 months to August 2020 they cut an average of 862,000 a month. The unemployment rate was 8.4%, down from 10.2% in July 2020 and up from 3.6% in August 2019. Average hourly pay was $29.49, 4.8% more than a year earlier, while consumer prices rose 1.3% in the 12 months to August 2020, so pay outpaced prices.
Jobs added in August
1,566,000
Cut 862,000 a month over 12 months
Unemployment rate
8.4%
Down from 10.2% in July 2020
Hourly pay, change over 12 months
4.8%
$29.49 an hour on average
Jobs added each month, Aug 2018 to Aug 2020
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
The unemployment rate, Aug 2018 to Aug 2020
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
How fast hourly pay is rising, Aug 2018 to Aug 2020
The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.
The numbers
Each month to August 2020, newest first. A dash means BLS published no figure.
| Month | Jobs added | Unemployment rate | Hourly pay, 12-month change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2020 | 1,566,000 | 8.4% | 4.8% |
| Jul 2020 | 1,584,000 | 10.2% | 4.9% |
| Jun 2020 | 4,631,000 | 11.0% | 5.0% |
| May 2020 | 2,614,000 | 13.2% | 6.6% |
| Apr 2020 | -20,469,000 | 14.8% | 8.1% |
| Mar 2020 | -1,398,000 | 4.4% | 3.5% |
| Feb 2020 | 262,000 | 3.5% | 3.1% |
| Jan 2020 | 237,000 | 3.6% | 3.0% |
| Dec 2019 | 127,000 | 3.6% | 3.0% |
| Nov 2019 | 207,000 | 3.6% | 3.3% |
| Oct 2019 | 95,000 | 3.6% | 3.2% |
| Sep 2019 | 196,000 | 3.5% | 3.1% |
| Aug 2019 | 232,000 | 3.6% | 3.4% |
| Jul 2019 | 99,000 | 3.7% | 3.4% |
| Jun 2019 | 220,000 | 3.6% | 3.5% |
| May 2019 | 27,000 | 3.6% | 3.3% |
| Apr 2019 | 296,000 | 3.7% | 3.3% |
| Mar 2019 | 228,000 | 3.8% | 3.4% |
| Feb 2019 | 7,000 | 3.8% | 3.6% |
| Jan 2019 | 251,000 | 4.0% | 3.3% |
| Dec 2018 | 192,000 | 3.9% | 3.5% |
| Nov 2018 | 90,000 | 3.8% | 3.4% |
| Oct 2018 | 169,000 | 3.8% | 3.3% |
| Sep 2018 | 81,000 | 3.7% | 3.1% |
| Aug 2018 | 257,000 | 3.8% | 3.2% |
Get new charts weekly
One email a week with the newest charts and their key numbers. No account needed.
Sources and notes
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (total nonfarm payroll employment) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics (average hourly earnings of all employees, total private) (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey (Public domain (U.S. government work)), data as of September 30, 2026.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes each month's jobs report (the Employment Situation) early the next month. Jobs added and hourly pay come from its survey of employers' payrolls; the unemployment rate comes from its survey of households. All three are seasonally adjusted. These are the latest figures, so they include the revisions BLS makes in the two reports after each month and once a year, and can differ from what was first reported. Hourly pay is in dollars of the day, not adjusted for inflation, and its average jumped in spring 2020 because mostly lower-paid people lost their jobs, not because pay rose. BLS published no unemployment rate for October 2025, when a lapse in federal funding stopped the household survey.