New York – September 08, 2026 -- The US economy added only 36.5K jobs in August 2026, according to a corrected release from workforce intelligence firm Revelio Labs, which had initially and erroneously reported a gain of 218.6K jobs. The correction accompanies the launch of Revelio's new Monthly Workforce Update, combining its Public Labor Statistics (RPLS) with its AI Labor Market Tracker.
Job growth concentrates in Public Administration and Health Care while Retail and Hospitality shrink
Public Administration and Health Care and Social Assistance led the August hiring gains, while Leisure and Hospitality and Retail Trade both lost jobs. Active job postings fell 3% month over month to 18.3 million, sitting 2.2% below August 2025 levels. Transportation and Warehousing postings dropped 13.2% and Wholesale Trade fell 11.3%, marking the steepest sector pullbacks. Advertised salaries in new postings declined 3.4%, indicating employers are competing less aggressively for talent.
AI-exposed occupations show a 19% employment gap for workers aged 22 to 25
Employment in the most AI-exposed occupations is down roughly 6% relative to the least-exposed occupations since November 2022, before the launch of ChatGPT. That gap widens sharply for younger workers: among those aged 22 to 25, employment in AI-exposed roles trails by 19% compared with less-exposed occupations.
AI-adopting firms expand headcount while highly exposed firms record fewer layoffs
Despite the occupational gap, firm-level data point away from broad AI-driven displacement. The most AI-exposed firms are recording fewer layoffs than the least-exposed firms, and companies actively adopting AI continue to grow headcount relative to non-adopters. Revelio Labs concludes that AI's labor market impact is concentrated in where employment growth occurs and which workers face weaker opportunities, rather than in mass job losses.
"The labor market added very few jobs in August, and opportunities are becoming increasingly uneven," said Lisa Simon, Chief Economist at Revelio Labs. "That is especially visible for younger workers in AI-exposed occupations. But we still do not see evidence of broad AI-driven displacement: highly exposed firms are laying off fewer workers, while firms adopting AI continue to expand."