Check out the Labor Market Insights – August 2026 for the full report. Key insights:Net employment declined by 23,000 jobs in July. Downward revisions to the past two months subtracted an additional 103,000 jobs from the initial estimates for May and June. Government employment declined by 53,000 jobs, with 50,000 of those job losses in local government education, accounting for the gap between total employment and private employment changes. This softening wage trend combined with the slower employment growth over the past several months has put downward pressure on payroll growth for workers compensation.