The monthly jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor provides a useful snapshot of how many jobs the economy created the previous month, how many people were unemployed, and what kind of wage hikes workers received. It also delivers an excellent snapshot of overall economic health
If you regularly watch the financial news, you’re probably aware of the drama and suspense surrounding this report, which is released the first Friday of each month. The report often has an outsize impact on markets for a variety of reasons, including:
Timing. It’s often the first major economic report to be released in a given month, setting the scene for other reports that follow.
Scope. It provides both a granular and a big-picture view of employment in the country.
Significance. It delivers investors a close-up view of consumer and business demand for products. Businesses tend to hire new employees when demand grows and lay off employees when demand lags.
What is the jobs report?
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at 8:30 am ET on the first Friday of each month, the jobs report, aka the Employment Situation Summary, is an estimate of:
The total number of workers in the U.S. (minus farm jobs)
Their average hourly earnings
The number of hours worked weekly
You’ll sometimes also hear the report referred to as the “monthly nonfarm payrolls” report.
The BLS conducts two surveys to find the data:
The establishment survey collects data from around 131,000 businesses and government agencies, representing an approximate 670,000 work sites to gauge the net change in aggregate payrolls.
The household survey polls around 60,000 eligible households across a range of demographics to track key employment trends (more on this below).
Overall, the jobs report is the largest and most detailed account of monthly employment in the U.S. If you want a zoom-in and zoom-out angle on the inner workings of the labor market, this massive report can give you most of what you need.
