Daily Roundup of Key US Economic Data for Sept. 4

02:36 PM EDT, 09/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The August employment report was generally upbeat, with payrolls growth much stronger than expected following upward revisions to the previous two month, the unemployment rate steady, and hourly earnings growth faster than in July. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 162,000 in August after a 21,000 gain in July and a 31,000 increase in June, both revised higher from their previous estimates. Private payrolls rose by 127,000, also above expectations and following a 71,000 gain in June. Leisure and hospitality jobs rebounded by 62,000 jobs after a decline of 21,000 in July, while government jobs were up 35,000 after a 50,000 decline. Health care and social assistance jobs rose by 28,400. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% in July, with the details strong. The labor force surged by 683,000 as labor force participation advanced. Household employment rose by 569,000 while the number of unemployed increased by 115,000. Average hourly earnings were up 0.3% in August, faster than a 0.2% increase in July, but the year-over-year rate slowed to 3.1% from 3.2% and was the slowest 12-month rate since May 2021 during the pandemic. The Q3 GDPnow estimate from the St. Louis Fed is for a 2.367% gain, down from a 2.406% gain in the previous estimate, while the New York Fed's estimate was revised up to 2.26% from 2.22%.