The monthly count of jobs added or lost in the United States, excluding farm work. The most watched single release in currency markets.
Dates come from the same table as the economic calendar, which is updated from the published schedule. Times shown are GMT; the calendar converts them.
| Published by | US Bureau of Labor Statistics |
|---|---|
| Usually released | First Friday of most months, 08:30 New York time |
| Typical impact rating | High |
| Currency | USD |
| Moves gold? | Commonly, since gold is priced in dollars |
The change in the number of people in paid employment in the United States over the previous month, excluding farm workers, private household employees and non-profit staff. Those exclusions are where the name comes from, and they are made because farm employment swings seasonally in ways that obscure the underlying trend.
Employment feeds directly into what the Federal Reserve is likely to do with interest rates, and interest rate expectations are the main driver of currency prices. A much stronger figure than expected shifts expectations toward tighter policy; a much weaker one does the opposite.
The headline payroll figure gets the attention, but the release also carries the unemployment rate and average hourly earnings, published at the same moment. The market frequently reacts to the earnings figure rather than the headline, which is why a "good" payroll number sometimes sends the dollar the other way.
Previous months are revised with each release, sometimes substantially. A strong headline alongside a large downward revision to the prior month is a different piece of news from a strong headline on its own.
What was published, against what was expected. The market reacts to the gap between forecast and actual, not to whether the number was good.
| Date | Currency | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Sept 2026 | USD | — | 55K | -23K |
| 2 Sept 2026 | USD | — | 47K | 44K |
| 7 Aug 2026 | USD | — | 85K | 57K |
| 5 Aug 2026 | USD | — | 68K | 98K |
| 30 Jul 2026 | USD | — | — | — |
08:30 New York time, which is 13:30 or 12:30 in London depending on daylight saving, and 18:30 or 19:30 in Dhaka. The countdown on this page uses the date in the calendar and your own device clock.
Because the market had already priced in something stronger, or because the average earnings figure in the same release pointed the other way, or because a large downward revision to previous months offset the headline. A release is never a single number.
Gold is priced in dollars and responds to United States interest rate expectations, so yes, it commonly moves on this release. That is a statement about what the release concerns, not a prediction of direction.
That is a strategy question this page cannot answer. What is certain is that spreads widen, slippage increases and a tight stop can be triggered by the widening alone. The journal on this site compares your own results on high impact days against every other day.
The journal on this site records the date of every trade and compares your results on days with a high impact release against every other day. That turns a general worry about trading the news into a figure about your own record.