Women accounted for almost all of job gains in August. Here's why

… </script></div></div></div><div class="PageBuilder-containerWidth100 PageBuilder-pageRow"><div class="PageBuilder-col-full PageBuilder-col PageBuilder-article"><div id="RegularArticle-ArticleHeader-2" data-test="articleHeader-0" data-analytics="RegularArticle-articleHeader-2-0"><header class="ArticleHeader-articleHeader" id="main-article-header"><div class="ArticleHeader-headerContentContainer" data-header-content-container="true"><div class="ArticleHeader-wrapperHeroNoImage ArticleHeader-wrapperHero ArticleHeader-wrapper ArticleHeader-wrapperNoImage"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/economy/" class="ArticleHeader-eyebrow">Economy</a><div><h1 class="ArticleHeader-headline">Women accounted for almost all of job gains in August. Here&#x27;s why</h1></div><div class="ArticleHeader-timeHidden"><time data-testid="published-timestamp" dateTime="2026-09-04T17:49:26+0000" itemProp="datePublished">Published Fri, Sep 4 2026<span class="ArticleHeader-datetimeDivider"></span>1:49 PM EDT</time><span class="ArticleHeader-timestampDivider"></span><time data-testid="lastpublished-timestamp" dateTime="2026-09-04T18:27:39+0000">Updated 4 Hours Ago</time></div></div><div class="ArticleHeader-authorAndShareInline"><div class="ArticleHeader-authorContainer ArticleHeader-authorContainerWithWatchLive"><div class="ArticleHeader-author"><div class="Author-author"><div class="Author-authorInfo"><img class="Author-authorPortrait" style="border:0" src="https://image.cnbcfm.com/api/v1/image/108173451-1752770193821-IMG_8083.jpg?v=1752770230&amp;w=60&amp;h=60&amp;ffmt=webp" alt="thumbnail"/><div class="Author-authorNameAndSocial"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/alex-harring/" class="Author-authorName">Alex Harring<span class="Author-authorUnderline"></span></a><a href="https://twitter.com/@alex_harring" class="Author-authorTwitter" target="_blank">@alex_harring</a></div></div></div></div><div class="ArticleHeader-author"><div class="ArticleHeader-authorDivider"></div><div class="Author-author"><div class="Author-authorInfo"><div class="Author-authorNameAndSocial"><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/deena-zaidi/" class="Author-authorName">Deena Zaidi<span class="Author-authorUnderline"></span></a></div></div></div></div></div><span><a href="/live-tv/" class="WatchLive-container">WATCH LIVE</a></span></div></div></header></div></div></div><div class="PageBuilder-containerFluidWidths PageBuilder-pageRow"><div class="PageBuilder-col-9 PageBuilder-col PageBuilder-article"><div class="RenderKeyPoints-keyPoints" id="RegularArticle-KeyPoints-4" data-test="keyPoints-1" data-analytics="RegularArticle-keyPoints-4-1"><div class="RenderKeyPoints-wrapper"><div class="RenderKeyPoints-header">Key Points</div><div class="RenderKeyPoints-list"><div><div class="group"><ul><li>Women accounted for virtually all of August&#x27;s payroll gains, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.</li><li>The male contribution was around 40 times smaller in the month.</li><li>It&#x27;s the latest sign of the growing power of women in the labor market.</li></ul></div></div></div></div></div><div class="ArticleBody-articleBody" id="RegularArticle-ArticleBody-5" data-module="ArticleBody" data-test="articleBody-2" data-analytics="RegularArticle-articleBody-5-2"><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"></span><div class="InlineImage-imageEmbed" id="ArticleBody-InlineImage-108342401" data-test="InlineImage"><div class="InlineImage-wrapper"><div class="InlineImage-imagePlaceholder" style="padding-bottom:55.55555555555556%"><div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div></div><div><div class="InlineImage-imageEmbedCaption">Jobseekers speak with a recruiter during the Catalyst Career Group Dallas Job Fair in Dallas, Texas, US, on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. </div><div class="InlineImage-imageEmbedCredit">Dylan Hollingsworth | Bloomberg | Getty Images</div></div></div></div><div class="group"><p>There&#x27;s a group to thank for <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/04/jobs-report-august-2026.html">August&#x27;s blockbuster jobs report</a>: women.</p><p>Women accounted for 158,000 — or around 98% — of the 162,000 jobs added in the month, according to a CNBC analysis of data released Friday by the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm" target="_blank">Bureau of Labor Statistics.</a></p><div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div><p>Men represent the remaining 4,000 net positions added, meaning their contribution to overall payroll growth was nearly 40 times smaller.</p></div><div style="height:400px" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div><div class="group"><p>The Economic Security Project, a progressive nonprofit, <a href="https://x.com/mtkonczal/status/2095855000018694548?s=20" target="_blank">first pointed out</a> the anomaly in Friday&#x27;s data.</p><p>With Friday&#x27;s report, the gap between the number of jobs held by women compared with men climbed to levels never before seen, according to Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab.</p><p>&quot;We are in the midst of a shift,&quot; Ullrich said. &quot;It is changing right before our eyes.&quot;</p></div><div style="height:400px" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div><h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle"><a id="headline0"></a>Women outperform </h2><div class="group"><p>Friday&#x27;s report offers the latest signal of how much momentum women are gaining in an otherwise lackluster job market.</p><div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div><p>Compared with 12 months ago, the BLS found that the level of employed women has grown by more than 870,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis. The male gender has lost nearly 1.5 million employed workers over the same timeframe.</p><p>Part of the recent outperformance among women could stem from what sectors are driving labor force expansion.</p><p>Healthcare, considered the engine of labor market growth for more than a year, continued adding positions in August. Upwards of <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/over-16-million-women-worked-in-health-care-and-social-assistance-in-2021.htm" target="_blank">four out of every five workers</a> in the industry are women.</p><p>The local government and education sector roared back to life in August, accounting for 42,000 jobs — or about a fourth of the total net gain. Women hold <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm" target="_blank">close to three-quarters</a> of positions related to education, training and libraries.</p><p>But Friday&#x27;s report also showed their hiring prowess in sectors like manufacturing that are considered male-dominated, Ullrich said.</p></div><div class="InlineImage-imageEmbed" id="ArticleBody-InlineImage-108359066" data-test="InlineImage"><div class="InlineImage-wrapper"><div class="InlineImage-imagePlaceholder" style="padding-bottom:55.55555555555556%"><div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div></div><div><div class="InlineImage-imageEmbedCaption"></div><div class="InlineImage-imageEmbedCredit">Annastills | Istock | Getty Images</div></div></div></div><h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle"><a id="headline1"></a>Crosscurrents</h2><div class="group"><p>The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for women came in at 3.9% in August, down 0.4 percentage points from the same month a year prior. The male rate jumped to 4.4%, equal to where it sat in August 2025.</p><p>Strength among women helped Friday&#x27;s overall nonfarm payrolls figure blow past expectations for August. The 162,000-role expansion was more than triple what economists forecasted.</p><p>To be sure, Heather Long, Navy Federal Credit Union&#x27;s chief economist, noted that month-to-month data by gender can be volatile in a Friday social media post. Instead, she said to focus on longer-term trends tied to gender.</p><p>Long said those trends show a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/18/motherhood-crisis-at-a-tipping-point-were-not-taking-it-anymore-.html">&quot;mom-cession,&quot;</a> a term used to describe the phenomena of mothers of young children leaving the workforce.</p><p>Because women tend to earn less than men, Ullrich said winning a higher share of jobs could mean companies are focusing hiring on lower-wage roles. Given that women are more likely to have multiple jobs, Ullrich said some of the gains could stem from workers who are stretching themselves thin.</p><p>&quot;You could look at it and say, &#x27;Yay, women,&#x27;&quot; Ullrich said. But, &quot;I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s necessarily a positive story for women overall.&quot;</p></div><div id="ArticleBody-MobileAdhesion" class="MobileAdhesion-container" data-module="mps-slot"></div><div class="ArticleBody-googlePreferredSourceContainer" data-module="GooglePreferredSource" data-id="RegularArticle-GooglePreferredSource-5"><div class="ArticleBody-googlePreferredSourceBorder"></div><a href="https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.cnbc.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.</a></div></div></div><div class="SidebarArticle-sidebar PageBuilder-sidebar" data-test="SidebarArticle"><div class="SidebarArticle-sticky" style="top:70px"><div></div><div></div><div style="margin-top:0px"></div><div><div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="PageBuilder-containerFluidWidths PageBuilder-pageRow"><div class="PageBuilder-col-9 PageBuilder-col PageBuilder-article"></div></div><div class="PageBuilder-containerFluidWidths PageBuilder-pageRow"><div class="PageBuilder-col-12 PageBuilder-col PageBuilder-article"><div style="height:100%" class="lazyload-placeholder"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div id="MobileAdhesion-Homepage" class="MobileAdhesion-container" data-module="mps-slot"></div><footer id="GlobalFooter" class="CNBCFooter-footer" data-mini-video-player-dont-scroll-beyond-here="true" data-test="GlobalFooter" data-analytics="RegularArticle-GlobalFooter"><div class="CNBCFooter-wrapper"><div><a href="//www.cnbc.com" class="CNBCFooter-logo" target="_self"><img src="https://static-redesign.cnbcfm.com/dist/d6085c9e81f4d7365c8d.svg" class="CNBCFooter-logoImg CNBCFooter-versantLogo" alt="CNBC logo"/></a></div><ul class="CNBCFooter-social"><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/cnbc/" class="icon-social_facebook" target="_blank" aria-label="facebook"></a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="https://www.twitter.com/cnbc/" class="icon-social_twitter" target="_blank" aria-label="twitter"></a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/cnbc/" class="icon-social_linkedin" target="_blank" aria-label="linkedin"></a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/cnbc/" class="icon-social_instagram" target="_blank" aria-label="instagram"></a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/cnbc/" class="icon-social_youtube" target="_blank" aria-label="youtube"></a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="https://apple.news/T3OtoXcxtRkuHRkM7SpFP_Q" class="icon-social_apple_news" target="_blank" aria-label="apple_news"></a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-socialItem"><a href="/rss-feeds/" class="icon-social_rss" target="_blank" aria-label="rss"></a></li></ul><div class="CNBCFooter-border"></div><ul class="CNBCFooter-list"><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/application/pro/?__source=pro|globalfooter" target="_self">Subscribe to CNBC PRO</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/investingclub/subscribe?__source=investingclub|globalfooter" target="_self">Subscribe to Investing Club</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/cnbc-reprints/" target="_self">Licensing &amp; Reprints</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="https://www.cnbccouncils.com/" target="_blank">CNBC Councils</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/select/" target="_self">Select Personal Finance</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="https://cnbcrsh.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dgRx5X1nYC0YjNI?Origin=cnbc" target="_blank">Join the CNBC Panel</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/closed-captioning/" target="_self">Closed Captioning</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/subscribe/all-access/" target="_self">Digital Products</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/cnbc-news-releases/" target="_self">News Releases</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/cnbc-internship-program/" target="_self">Internships</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/corrections/" target="_self">Corrections</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/about/" target="_self">About CNBC</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/site-map/" target="_self">Site Map</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/podcast/" target="_self">Podcasts</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="/cnbc-careers-and-employment/" target="_self">Careers</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="https://help.cnbc.com/" target="_blank">Help</a></li><li class="CNBCFooter-listItem"><a href="https://help.cnbc.com/contact/" target="_blank">Contact</a></li></ul><ul class="CNBCFooter-section"><li class="CNBCFooter-sectionItem"><h4 class="CNBCFooter-sectionTitle">News Tips</h4><p class="CNBCFooter-sectionText">Got a confidential news tip? 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