Read the release definition first
The Employment Situation combines payroll employment and household-survey measures. Nonfarm payroll change and the unemployment rate answer different questions; a contract naming one cannot be evaluated from a headline about the other.
| Field | What to identify |
|---|---|
| Measure | Payroll change in jobs versus unemployment percentage |
| Survey | Establishment payrolls versus household labour measures |
| Reference | Data month / survey reference period |
| Revision | Initial number versus later revision |
| Rule | Exact table, threshold and settlement source |
Source provenance and retrieval dates
Read the release definition first
BLS Employment Situation release tables ↗
Last successful source check: 2026-10-25Evidence origin: direct public-document read · Current evidence status: verified
Public documentation supports only the described scope; examples are not account tests.
Two questions can have different answers
Synthetic example: an initial payroll change is +150,000, later revised to +140,000. A contract on the initial number strictly above 145,000 and a contract on the revised number can differ. A 4.2% unemployment rate is not a payroll count and cannot settle either claim.
The reference period and release date differ. Read the named series, seasonal adjustment, source table, cutoff and whether later revisions count. The official schedule establishes the scheduled release, not the contract’s settlement time. No current jobs forecast or odds are shown.
| Stage | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Reference period | When economic activity was measured |
| Publication | When the number was released |
| Determination | Which observation the contract uses |
Source provenance and retrieval dates
Two questions can have different answers
BLS Employment Situation release tables ↗
Last successful source check: 2026-10-25Evidence origin: direct public-document read · Current evidence status: verified
BLS economic release calendar ↗
Last successful source check: 2026-10-24Evidence origin: direct public-document read · Current evidence status: verified
Public documentation supports only the described scope; examples are not account tests.
Sources
- BLS economic release calendar →Last successful source check: 2026-10-24Evidence origin: direct public-document read · Current evidence status: verified
- BLS Employment Situation release tables →Last successful source check: 2026-10-25Evidence origin: direct public-document read · Current evidence status: verified
Your next useful step
Keep publication date separate from observation and settlement.
Read the official release schedule →