Trump’s ‘best employment’ claim rests on one record, not the whole jobs picture

US payroll employment reached a record in August 2026, but other key jobs measures have been stronger in the past. That distinction limits the sweeping historical claim Donald Trump shared on Truth Social on 28 September. [1] [3] [4] [5]

Trump posted a statement he attributed to Fox News describing US employment numbers as the “BEST Employment Numbers in HISTORY”. He added that the “Fake News Media” refused to report the development. The post did not identify an employment measure, a reporting period, a Fox programme or speaker, or the outlets he was accusing. [1]

The latest US jobs report, released on 4 September, showed non-farm payroll employment rising by an estimated 162,000 in August, well above the average monthly gain of 31,000 over the preceding year. Total payroll employment reached 159.075 million, the highest figure in a data series beginning in 1939. Revisions also lifted the June and July estimates by a combined 55,000; those were changes to earlier figures, not additional jobs gained in August. [2] [3]

Other measures have been more favourable. Payrolls grew by 434,000 in January 2023, more than the August increase. Unemployment was 4.1% in August, against 3.4% in April 2023. The employment-to-population ratio, which measures the share of the civilian noninstitutional population aged 16 and over in work, was 59.1%, against 64.7% in April 2000. A separate household survey counted 162.746 million people in work in August, slightly below its May estimate of 162.771 million. [3] [4] [5]