Women accounted for almost all of the jobs added to the US economy in August, as payroll employment rose by 162,000 in a sharp rebound that confounded forecasts.
Employment among women increased by 158,000, or about 98 per cent of the monthly gain, while men added roughly 4,000 jobs, according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The overall increase was almost three times the roughly 55,000 jobs economists had expected. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 per cent, while the labour force participation rate edged up to 61.6 per cent.
The figures offer another indication of the changing balance of the US workforce. Women overtook men in total payroll employment earlier this year for only the third time on record, with female-heavy industries such as healthcare, education and hospitality continuing to expand while some male-dominated sectors have struggled.
Why women led the August jobs gains
Much of the unusually large gender gap in August was concentrated in education and hospitality, sectors that employ a high proportion of women.
Food services and drinking places added 59,000 jobs, while local government education contributed a further 42,000. Together, the two areas accounted for more than three-fifths of the month’s total increase.
The education figure largely reversed a fall recorded in July. The BLS said employment in local government education had shown little net change since January 2025, suggesting the August rise was partly a seasonal adjustment rather than evidence of a sudden structural shift.
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from a single month of gender data.
“I think there’s been way too much focus on the month to month—is it men gaining jobs or women?” Long said. “That moves around a lot.”
She said the latest result was driven largely by the return of teachers after the summer break and a recovery in hospitality employment. Women also remain highly represented in healthcare, which has been one of the most consistent sources of job growth since the pandemic.
Healthcare employment rose by 13,000 in August, although that was well below its average monthly gain of 32,000 over the previous year. Home healthcare services and hospitals accounted for most of the increase.
Manufacturing employment also continued to improve, rising by 16,000 and standing 58,000 above its recent low in December 2025. By contrast, the information industry lost 23,000 jobs, including positions in data processing, web hosting, publishing and broadcasting.
The latest report followed a weak spell in hiring. The BLS revised June’s increase up by 11,000 jobs and July’s figure up by 44,000, meaning employment over the two months was 55,000 higher than previously estimated. July payrolls are now shown to have increased by 21,000, rather than falling by 23,000.
Strong jobs report complicates Federal Reserve decision
Despite the robust headline figure, wage growth remained subdued. Average hourly earnings increased by 0.3 per cent in August and were up 3.1 per cent on the year, the slowest annual rate since May 2021, according to the Associated Press.
The combination of stronger hiring and weaker pay growth leaves the Federal Reserve facing a difficult decision as it weighs whether to raise interest rates later in September.
A resilient labour market could give policymakers more scope to focus on inflation, which remains above the central bank’s 2 per cent target. Financial markets reacted by pushing Treasury yields higher, while US shares were mixed.
Bradford Smith, a portfolio manager at Janus Henderson Investors, described the figures as “a monster jobs report for August” and said they underlined how volatile the labour data had become.
Ellen Zentner, chief economic strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said the stronger-than-expected payroll number was likely to increase pressure for a rate rise, although next week’s inflation figures could prove decisive.
If inflation shows signs of cooling, the Federal Reserve may be willing to look beyond the unusually strong August jobs gain. If it remains elevated, the report will provide policymakers with another reason to tighten monetary policy.
