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Nonfarm payroll employment is the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ estimate of wage-and-salary jobs at nonfarm businesses and government employers. It counts jobs, not unique people: someone with two covered payroll jobs is counted twice. The monthly figure is an important labor-market indicator, but it is not a standalone measure of unemployment, household well-being, or the economy’s direction.
What nonfarm payroll means
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates nonfarm payroll employment through its Current Employment Statistics (CES) establishment survey. The survey collects information from individual worksites in private nonfarm businesses and federal, state, and local government. It estimates jobs held by people who worked or received pay during the reference pay period, including people on paid leave.
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As the BLS explains in its Quick Guide to the Employment Situation, “The CES employment series are estimates of nonfarm wage and salary jobs, not an estimate of employed persons; an individual with two jobs is counted twice by the payroll survey.”
Who and what the survey excludes
CES does not cover farm workers, self-employed people, unpaid family workers, or private household workers. Because the measure is based on payroll jobs, it also does not tell you how many distinct people hold those jobs.
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How payrolls differ from unemployment
The monthly Employment Situation report combines two surveys that measure different things. CES estimates nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. The household survey, formally the Current Population Survey (CPS), measures people’s labor-force status—including whether they are employed, unemployed, or outside the labor force—and provides demographic detail. It includes some groups outside CES coverage, such as agricultural workers and unincorporated self-employed people.
| Measure | CES establishment survey | CPS household survey |
|---|---|---|
| Unit counted | Payroll jobs; a person with multiple covered jobs can be counted more than once | People; each person is counted once |
| Coverage | Nonfarm wage-and-salary jobs at private businesses and government worksites | Labor-force status, including groups such as agricultural workers and unincorporated self-employed people |
| Principal results | Employment, hours, and earnings by industry | Employment status and unemployment by demographic group |
The surveys can show different movements because their samples, coverage, and units differ. For example, payroll jobs can rise while the unemployment rate is unchanged; that is not necessarily a contradiction, because one figure counts jobs and the other describes people’s labor-force status. The BLS outlines the surveys’ differences in its comparison of CES and CPS.
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How nonfarm payroll affects economic interpretation
Payroll data are among the early monthly indicators of economic conditions. Public and private policymakers, financial markets, businesses, academics, and researchers use CES estimates to assess labor-market conditions. A gain may indicate stronger demand for workers; a decline may suggest weakening employment or hiring. Neither result, by itself, determines what will happen to GDP, inflation, financial markets, or a Federal Reserve decision.
For a more complete reading, look beyond the headline change:
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- Industry detail: Shows which parts of the economy added or lost jobs, rather than treating every change as equivalent.
- Average hours: Adds context about how much work employers are scheduling.
- Earnings: Helps show how pay is changing alongside employment.
- Household survey measures: Unemployment and labor-force participation provide a people-based perspective that payroll counts cannot.
For example, the BLS reported that nonfarm payroll employment rose by 162,000 in August 2026 while the unemployment rate remained 4.1 percent. These are figures from that month’s release, not a claim about the latest report; they illustrate how the two surveys can produce headlines that move differently. See the August 2026 Employment Situation release.
Why nonfarm payroll estimates get revised
The first CES estimate is published about three weeks after the reference period. BLS revises that estimate twice over the next two months as more employers report and seasonal factors are recalculated. Later, annual benchmarking aligns the sample-based estimates with more comprehensive employment counts, principally from unemployment-insurance records collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). The BLS describes the process in its CES frequently asked questions and benchmark article.
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A revision changes the estimate of employment in an earlier period; it does not mean that the revised number of jobs disappeared on the day the revision was published. Revisions matter because they can change the apparent size or pace of past job growth.
Examples of recent revisions, with their dates
- February 2026: The final benchmark incorporated in the February 2026 Employment Situation revised the seasonally adjusted March 2025 total nonfarm employment level downward by 898,000. It also revised estimated 2025 employment growth from 584,000 to 181,000. These figures describe revised historical estimates, not jobs suddenly lost in February 2026. Details are in the February 2026 release.
- August 2026: BLS published a preliminary benchmark estimate of a 79,000-job, or 0.1 percent, downward revision to the March 2026 level. BLS said this preliminary estimate did not update official establishment-survey estimates. The final benchmark was scheduled for incorporation with the January 2027 Employment Situation release in February 2027. See the August 2026 preliminary benchmark announcement.
How to use the report without overreading one number
- Identify the figure’s vintage. Check whether it is a first estimate, a later monthly revision, or a benchmarked historical estimate.
- Read the components. Review industry gains and losses, hours, and earnings to understand what sits behind the total.
- Compare it with people-based measures. Read unemployment and labor-force data from the household survey as related, but distinct, evidence.
- Look across releases. A sequence of reports is more informative about a trend than one preliminary monthly estimate.
The BLS publishes current monthly data and release information on its Employment Situation page. For current figures, consult the latest release rather than relying on dated examples.
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