US job market score up after August hiring rebound

We raised the United States job market score from 8.8 to 9.0 on Country To Live. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said employers added 162,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August 2026, a clear rebound versus the soft monthly pace of the prior year, while the unemployment rate held at 4.1%.

This is a data call for people comparing countries on our site. It is not a guarantee you will land a US job, and it is not immigration advice.

What the payroll print shows

• Hiring jumped. BLS reported +162,000 nonfarm jobs in August 2026. That sits far above the roughly 31,000 average monthly gain over the prior 12 months.
• Unemployment held steady. The jobless rate stayed at 4.1%, with about 7.0 million people unemployed. The print is a hiring rebound, not a full labour-market boom.
• Gains were uneven by industry. Food services and drinking places and local government education added jobs. The information sector lost jobs, so tech and media roles still look selective.
• Participation edged up. The labour force participation rate rose to 61.6%, and the employment-population ratio moved to 59.1%. More people were working or looking than in July.
• This is jobs data only. Visas, tariffs, and housing still sit in other US score categories. We only moved the job market number.

How we use this score

Job market on Country To Live tracks how workable hiring looks for an international mover: payroll momentum, unemployment pressure, and whether local roles feel open. A 9.0/10 keeps the US near the top of our catalog for career upside, a modest step above the prior 8.8.

If the US is on your shortlist, open the United States country page, run Canada vs United States or Mexico vs United States, or put the US in the compare tool. Peers such as Canada and the United Kingdom remain useful checks if you need another English-speaking base. Browse all country scores to see where this raise lands.

If jobs are your swing factor

1. Separate H-1B or other sponsored work from remote-from-abroad plans. A stronger payroll print helps local hiring stories; it does not rewrite visa rules.
2. Check sector and city separately. National gains in hospitality and education do not erase soft spots in information jobs.
3. Pair this score with cost of living and residency pages. Better hiring does not cancel high rents or hard pathways.

We will update again if payroll gains fade for several months or if unemployment climbs in a sustained way.

This note explains our editorial scoring only. It is not legal or relocation advice.