Every month, the BLS reports the jobs report. The monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics employment situation report (EMPSIT) is the single most important publicly available information on the US economy. The report is commonly called “the jobs report.” The second most important report is corporate profits. (quarterly).
Sadly, there is no larger measure of a successful economy for working people. The lack of data is on purpose. The government does not collect statistics on national job losses, gig workers, discrimination, and employment by race.
The Employment report is divided into two sections: CPS and business survey. The CPS employment numbers come from a rolling sample of about 60,000 surveys that ask individual households about their current employment conditions. The business survey reports employment numbers from businesses and delivers the non-farm payroll numbers.
This month, we want to look at the jobs report for June, as reported on July 3rd 2026. The report lags by a month. But we also want to teach you how to understand it. We want to look at what is important and what is not.
Blackeconomics.com is stepping away from our monthly analysis of unemployment, Black jobs, and Black unemployment. Black Economics has covered the labor market report for close to 20 years, so we want to offer some insights to look for when the report is released.
How to read the report
So, it’s a little sad, but basically, you are looking for bad news. The job market has been stagnant since the Covid bump. And good news does not make headlines. So, you are looking for any change that is bad news or any long-term trend that could be bad news. Bad news makes headlines.
The bad news usually comes from three places: 1) a monthly drop in a positive statistic, like new jobs for nurses or a downward revision or prior new jobs, 2) an increase in a negative statistic such as the long-term unemployed or 3) a slow change in a larger, long-term trend that might signal trouble for the economy. A good example is the decline in Black female employment after DOGE.
You are also looking for any change in a short- or long-term statistic that might signal trouble or success.
But where do I find the news in the jobs report? Here is our guide
How to prepare the day before
You have to do a little background reading. Before you tackle the EMPSIT, you should check the JOLTS report, the weekly unemployment claims report, ADP jobs report, and the Paychex jobs report. There is also an economist consensus forecast published a day or two before.
The most important number is the JOLTs voluntary job leavers number. When the economy is good for workers, people leave for better jobs and higher salaries. Wages rise.
After reviewing the background material, you should be able to create a rough mental estimate of the expected job numbers. Think about what the new unemployment rate might be and how many new jobs might be created.
BLS Employment Situation Report
Then you can open the report at 8:30 am on the first Friday of the month.
First, check all the top-line numbers: New jobs created, unemployment rate (U-3), the Black unemployment rate, new jobs by sector, the participation rate, and the employment-to-population rate. We also check U-6.
Second, check worker groups: Black men and women, whites, Hispanics, and Asian. Foreign and domestic. Black teenage unemployment.
Third, examine sector-level employment gains. Healthcare, warehousing, and hospitality always grow, but are low-paid. You want to check growth in high-paid, low-education jobs like construction and manufacturing. And high-wage jobs like finance and IT.
Fourth, check wages and work weeks. Also look at participation rates. Try to spot long-term trends in employment groups. For example, are Black women dropping out of the labor market?
Fifth and finally, look at the employment number revisions. How big was the adjustment to last month’s non-farm payroll data?
We wanted to add some notes
First, the jobs report is absolutely accurate. And all presidents hate it. It is a testament to the quality of the data, the work, and the people at the US Census Bureau and the BLS. Let’s be clear, it would be impossible to fake or change the numbers. Much of the process is completely automated and has not changed for years.
President Trump, in a “flex’ fired the head of the BLS. She had almost nothing to do with how the report is collected and compiled.
Extra credit. Take the pop quiz.