US Jobs Report (NFP)

The US jobs report, which traders mostly know as NFP or "Non-Farm Payrolls", is one of the most volatile releases of the month for the dollar and gold. Its headline number tells you how many jobs American employers added or cut last month, and hourly wage growth is published alongside it. At the top of this page you can see the time of the next NFP release in Tehran time with a countdown, the latest actual and forecast figures, and a history chart of employment and wages; this guide explains where these numbers come from and how to read them.

What is NFP and who publishes it?

Non-Farm Payrolls is part of a monthly report called the Employment Situation, published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This number comes from the establishment survey ; that is, the BLS asks a large sample of companies and government agencies how many people are on their payrolls. Farm workers, household staff and the self-employed are not included in this count, which is why it is called "non-farm".

The unemployment rate is released in the same report at the same moment, but it comes from a different survey of households. We explain that number, labor force participation and its importance for the Federal Reserve on the US unemployment rate page; here the focus is on jobs created, wages and revisions.

NFP release time in Tehran time

The jobs report is usually released on the first Friday of each month for the previous month, at 8:30 a.m. New York time. Since Iran does not observe daylight saving time, this is 16:00 Tehran time during the months when the US is on daylight saving time and 17:00 in winter. Sometimes, because of the calendar or a government shutdown, the release shifts by a week; so instead of guessing, rely on the countdown at the top of the page or the Teagle economic calendar .

Three key parts of the report: jobs, wages and revisions

Change in non-farm payrolls

The headline number is reported in thousands and is the change from the previous month, not the total number of employed people. A positive figure means the economy created jobs, and a negative one means jobs were lost. The market compares this number with the forecast; a figure that is positive but far below expectations can be read as bad news.

Average Hourly Earnings

Monthly growth in average hourly earnings, which is also charted in this page's history, is the bridge between the labor market and inflation. Wages that rise quickly may pass through to prices via company costs and household spending. That is why the market sometimes reacts more to wages than to the number of jobs, especially when the main concern is US inflation .

Revisions to previous figures

In each report, the BLS revises the figures for the previous two months with more complete data, and once a year it also benchmarks the entire series against more accurate unemployment insurance data. If this month's number is good but the previous two months are revised sharply lower, the overall picture is weaker than the headline. The "Previous" column in the calendar is sometimes this revised number, not the one you saw last month.

Typical market reaction to NFP

Stronger-than-expected employment usually means the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to cut interest rates; so the dollar tends to strengthen and gold (per ounce) , which pays no yield, often comes under pressure. Weak employment usually works the other way. Currency pairs such as EUR/USD see the sharpest moves in the first few minutes, and crypto and stock indices often fluctuate at the same time.

These are only tendencies. When jobs and wages point in opposite directions, or revisions cancel out the headline, the market's initial move may reverse within minutes. The final effect also depends on what the market was expecting from the next meeting; see how the two are connected on the Fed interest rate decision page.

Practical tips for trading on NFP day

• Many brokers widen spreads for a few minutes before and after the release, and orders may be executed with slippage ; a stop loss is no guarantee of closing at the exact price either.
• If you have open positions, review your size before the release time and adjust it with the trader's calculator so that even a sharp move does not exceed your risk limit.
• Read all three parts together: jobs, wages and revisions. Deciding based on the headline alone is the most common mistake on this day.
• If you don't have enough experience, waiting for the market to calm down is usually safer than entering in the first few seconds.

The figures on this page are for information only and are not a recommendation to buy or sell.