August 2026 | Released September 18, 2026
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United States
Employment snapshot
In August, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 28, rose in 4, and remained unchanged in 19.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2 percent in South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in August.
In August, payroll jobs rose in 35 states and fell in 16. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.6 percent in New Mexico. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Maryland.
California
Employment snapshot
In August, California added 39,400 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent. In the prior month, California lost 15,700 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, California added 138,500 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points from 5.5 percent.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, or 0.1 percent. California is tied for 14th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In August, California’s private sector added 29,600 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 142,100 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, California lost 8,000 net private payroll jobs.
In August, employment in California fell by 36,516, and over the past 12 months it fell by 246,678.
California’s labor force participation rate fell to 61.5 percent in August from 61.6 percent and is tied for 29th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 1 percentage point.
California
Payroll employment
California added 39,400 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during August. In the prior month, California lost 15,700 jobs. California nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August, or 0.1 percent. California is tied for 14th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
California added 29,600 private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during August. In the prior month, California lost 8,000 jobs. California private sector payroll employment has increased in 6 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 127,000 jobs in August, or 0.1 percent. California is tied for 15th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
From July 2026 to August 2026:
- The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+18,600) and State and Local Government (+9,600).
- The worst performing sectors were Professional and Business Services (-1,800) and Information (-900).
From August 2025 to August 2026:
- The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+131,500) and Leisure and Hospitality (+45,700).
- The worst performing sectors were Information (-22,600) and Professional and Business Services (-15,500).
California
Labor force
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.
The labor force participation rate in California fell to 61.5 percent in August from 61.6 percent in the prior month.
California is tied for 29th in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in California was 63 percent in February 2020, and the 10-year low was 59.6 percent in May 2020.
The national labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 61.6 percent in August.