Read the jobs report in under a minute.

— Cheat sheet

The four numbers that actually matter.

Every jobs report has the same structure. Learn these four lines and you can read the print in under a minute.

• — 01

  Nonfarm payrolls

  What to watch

  The actual change vs the prior-month trend and recent 3-month average.

  How to read it

  A print above 200k with positive revisions points to a hot labor market; sustained prints below 100k point to cooling demand. Revisions to the two prior months often matter as much as the headline.

• — 02

  Unemployment rate

  What to watch

  Direction of the trend and the 0.1% moves.

  How to read it

  A tick up above 4.3% triggers the Sahm-rule recession-signal watch; a sub-4% print confirms labor-market tightness and reduces rate-cut odds.

• — 03

  Labor-force participation

  What to watch

  Whether unemployment changes are from new entrants or exits.

  How to read it

  Rising participation with steady unemployment is healthy. More people working. A falling unemployment rate alongside falling participation is often a warning sign.

• — 04

  Average hourly earnings

  What to watch

  Year-over-year pace vs the 3–3.5% zone the Fed watches for wage-price spiral.

  How to read it

  YoY above 4% with tight labor markets worries the Fed. Below 3.5% with cooling CPI supports the soft-landing narrative and rate cuts.

— History

The last twelve reports.

“Prior revision” is the net change the BLS applied to the previously-reported prior month when the new data was published. Often as market-moving as the headline itself.