Labor Market

Total Nonfarm Payrolls

Total employment in the U.S. nonfarm economy

What is the current Total Nonfarm Payrolls?

TOTAL NONFARM EMPLOYMENT
158,466
people employed in the nonfarm economy

Total nonfarm payrolls stood at 158.5 million in the latest BLS report. This headline employment number tracks the total number of paid workers in the U.S. economy excluding farm workers and a few other categories. Month-over-month changes signal the pace of job creation or destruction. Source: BLS via FRED (PAYEMS).

Total Nonfarm Payrolls at 158,627

Tracking stable relative to recent baseline.

Explore Further

How has Total Nonfarm Payrolls changed over time?

CSV Chart Card
Total Nonfarm Payrolls over time
Total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment, thousands
Total Nonfarm Payrolls
Historical data
Monthly · BLS via FRED
Period Value YoY Change
Feb 2026 158,466 +156.00
Jan 2026 158,558 +290.00
Dec 2025 158,432 +116.00
Nov 2025 158,449 +370.00
Oct 2025 158,408 +463.00
Sep 2025 158,548 +636.00
Aug 2025 158,472 +715.00
Jul 2025 158,542 +794.00
Jun 2025 158,478 +783.00
May 2025 158,498 +890.00
Apr 2025 158,485 +955.00
Mar 2025 158,377 +911.00

Frequently Asked Questions

What are total nonfarm payrolls?

Nonfarm payrolls count the total number of paid U.S. workers excluding farm employees, private household employees, and nonprofit organization employees. At 158.5 million, it is the broadest measure of U.S. employment.

Why do payrolls matter for the distress index?

Employment is the foundation of household income. Slowing payroll growth or outright job losses directly increase financial distress by reducing income available to service debt and cover expenses.

Where does this data come from?

Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of the Current Employment Statistics survey, available via FRED series PAYEMS.

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Why does Total Nonfarm Payrolls matter?

Total Nonfarm Payrolls is one of 91 indicators in the American Distress Index's labor market layer — the signal that predicted the 2008 crisis two years before delinquency data confirmed it.
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