US employers added 162,000 nonfarm payrolls in August 2026, far above forecasts ranging from 53,000 to 56,000, while unemployment held at 4.1%. Labor-force participation rose to 61.6% as 300,000 people moved directly from outside the labor force into jobs, Black unemployment fell to 6%, and annual hourly-earnings growth remained 3.1%, a pace viewed as consistent with the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target. Treasury yields and the dollar rose, gold fell about 2% to settle at $4,391.61 an ounce, and markets reassessed the odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase at its Sept. 15-16 meeting. Rate-hike pricing varied from roughly even odds to 62% after the report, compared with about 55% beforehand and 70% earlier in the week, leaving August CPI and PPI as decisive tests. US stocks were mixed, the yen remained volatile ahead of the Bank of Japan's Sept. 17-18 meeting, and investors continued monitoring possible Japanese currency intervention.