August Good Jobs Rate Drops Slightly

August Gallup Good Jobs (GGJ) rate was 46.5 percent, down from the record high 47.1 percent reached in July, but still higher than any other monthly rate Gallup has recorded since measurement began in 2010. GGJ typically peaks in the midsummer months of June and July and begins to fall in August, so this decrease is in line with the typical seasonal pattern. The current rate is also 1.2 percentage points higher than in August 2015, suggesting an underlying increase in full-time work that goes beyond seasonal changes in employment.

The percentage of U.S. adults in August who participated in the workforce -- by working full time, working part time or not working but actively seeking and being available for work -- was 67.4 percent. This is down nominally from 67.8 percent in July but is in line with the rates recorded since April of this year.

Gallup's unadjusted U.S. unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in August, up nominally from July's 5.1 percent, which was the lowest for any month in Gallup's six-year trend. This month's rate is almost a full point below the 6.3 percent recorded in August 2015. Gallup's measure of underemployment in August was 13.2 percent, up nominally from 12.7 percent in July but still the second lowest Gallup has recorded to date.