Labor Day 2027 is Monday, September 6: dates, history and a long weekend plan

The short answer: labor day 2027 is Monday, September 6, 2027, the first Monday in September and a federal holiday that honors American workers.

• Long weekend: Saturday, September 4, to Monday, September 6
• Labor Day 2026 was Monday, September 7
• Dates through 2030 and what's closed
• A budget cookout and weekend plan
• Next step: Plan it with the Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99).

Labor Day 2027 is Monday, September 6, 2027. It's the first Monday in September, a federal holiday that honors American workers, and for most families the last long weekend of summer: Saturday, September 4, to Monday, September 6. Here are the dates through 2030, what's closed, how the holiday started and a simple plan for the weekend. Labor Day 2026 was Monday, September 7; that date is covered below too.

Labor Day dates, 2026 to 2030

The Federal Reserve holiday schedule lists these Labor Day dates, and the Office of Personnel Management federal holiday list shows Monday, September 6, for 2027. Because the rule is the first Monday in September, Labor Day always falls between September 1 and September 7. In 2027 it's on the 6th, one of the later dates.

Labor Day 2026: Monday, September 7

Labor Day 2026 was Monday, September 7, 2026, the latest date the holiday can fall, since September 1, 2026, was a Tuesday. The long weekend ran from Saturday, September 5, to Monday, September 7. Labor Day 2027 comes one day earlier on the calendar, on Monday, September 6, because the first Monday in September moves back a day most years and two days after a leap year. If you are planning ahead, add the 2027 date to your calendar now and use the plan below for the weekend.

Is Labor Day a federal holiday?

Yes. Labor Day is one of the eleven holidays on the Office of Personnel Management federal holiday list, and in 2027 it falls on Monday, September 6. Because it is always set on a Monday, it never needs an "observed" day the way fixed-date holidays like Juneteenth or Independence Day sometimes do. OPM explains that when a holiday lands on a Saturday, most federal employees get the Friday before off, and when it lands on a Sunday they get the Monday after.

What a federal holiday means in practice:

• Federal offices are closed and most federal employees have the day off.
• Federal Reserve Banks are closed, according to the Federal Reserve holiday schedule. Check your own bank's holiday hours too, and expect a transfer that would settle that day to wait for the next business day.
• State and local governments, schools and private employers set their own calendars. Many close, many stay open. Check your employer's holiday list and your school district calendar.
• Holiday pay depends on your employer's policy. Our guide to holiday pay explains how it usually works and how to calculate it.

How Labor Day began

The U.S. Department of Labor history of Labor Day describes a holiday that started with workers and cities before Congress acted:

• 1882: the first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, in New York City, following plans by the Central Labor Union. Britannica says about 10,000 workers marched.
• 1883: the Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day, again on September 5.
• 1884: Britannica notes the Knights of Labor adopted a resolution that the first Monday in September be considered Labor Day.
• 1885 and 1886: cities passed municipal ordinances, and a movement for state laws grew.
• 1887: Oregon became the first state to pass a law recognizing Labor Day, on February 21. Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York followed that year.
• 1894: by then 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the law making the first Monday in September a national holiday.

Who founded Labor Day?

Nobody is completely sure. The Department of Labor says two men with nearly identical names have a solid claim:

Both men attended the first Labor Day parade in New York City. Britannica adds that McGuire said the September date was chosen because it fell roughly halfway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

Why September and not May Day?

Many countries mark workers on May 1. The Britannica entry on Labor Day explains that when Cleveland proposed a national holiday in 1894, the two obvious choices were Labor Day and May Day, and May Day's associations at the time made it unacceptable, so Labor Day was chosen. Canada's Labour Day is also the first Monday in September.

How Labor Day is celebrated

The first proposal for the holiday, the Department of Labor says, called for a street parade to show "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for workers and their families. Parades and parties are still the pattern. In 1909 the American Federation of Labor adopted the Sunday before Labor Day as Labor Sunday. In 2027, that's September 5.

Britannica notes that over time Labor Day also became an end-of-summer celebration and a long weekend for family get-togethers.

Planning the Labor Day 2027 weekend

Because Labor Day 2027 falls on September 6, many schools will already have started. Use Monday to set up fall routines, not just recover from the weekend.

A Labor Day cookout on a budget

A backyard cookout can feed a crowd without blowing the budget, if you plan it:

1. Set the budget first. Decide what you'll spend on food and drinks, and write it down.
2. Keep the menu short. One main, two or three sides, one dessert and drinks. Oven BBQ chicken is an easy main for a crowd.
3. Ask guests to bring something. A side dish, chips or drinks.
4. Shop from one list. Check the pantry and freezer first so you don't buy what you already have.
5. Plan the leftovers. Turn extra burgers or chicken into lunches for the week.

The Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99) has a weekly meal planner, grocery list and pantry and freezer pages, so the cookout and the week after come from one shopping trip.

Paying for the end of summer

Late summer costs add up fast: school supplies, fall sports fees, the cookout and maybe a last trip. A sinking fund spreads those costs out so they don't land on one paycheck. The Sinking Funds Tracker ($4.99) works out how much to set aside each month to hit every goal on time. Start one now for Labor Day 2027, the holidays and next summer.

Bills and paydays around Labor Day

A Monday holiday can shift money by a day. If a payday, automatic transfer or bill due date lands on the holiday, a direct deposit may arrive a day early or a day late, depending on your employer and bank, and a payment you schedule for the holiday may not process until the next business day. A few habits keep the long weekend from causing a late fee:

1. Mark the holiday on your bill calendar as soon as you set up the month.
2. Schedule payments for the business day before if the due date is the holiday itself.
3. Check pending transfers the next morning so nothing is stuck.
4. Leave a small buffer in checking the week of the holiday.

A fall reset after Labor Day

Labor Day is a natural line between summer and fall, and a good time to reset the house:

• Put away summer gear. Clean and store pool toys, coolers and beach chairs.
• Set up a school-week routine. Backpacks, lunches and a place for papers.
• Start a fall cleaning list. Windows, gutters and the furnace filter before the weather turns.
• Check the calendar for September and October events, sports and school dates.

The Cleaning Schedule ($4.49) has daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal checklists to keep the reset going, and the Household Binder ($6.99) puts calendars, meal plans, bills and sitter notes in one binder for the school year. Our free 2027 calendar has every month with holidays marked.

Labor Day 2027 checklist

• Mark Monday, September 6, on the family calendar, plus Labor Sunday on September 5.
• Check whether work, school and child care are closed.
• Move any bill due on the 6th to Friday, September 3.
• Set the cookout budget and send invites two weeks ahead.
• Make one shopping list for the weekend and the week after.
• Put a fall cleaning day on the calendar for the weekend after.
• Start or top up the sinking fund for the holidays.

Labor Day and the rest of fall 2027

Labor Day opens a busy stretch of the calendar. After September 6, the next federal holidays on the OPM 2027 list are Columbus Day on Monday, October 11, Veterans Day on Thursday, November 11, and Thanksgiving on Thursday, November 25. That leaves about five weeks between Labor Day and the next Monday holiday, which makes it a good window to set up fall routines, plan Halloween costumes and start a holiday budget before the shopping season.

If you plan ahead, write the fall dates on a single page: school breaks, sports seasons, birthdays and the three holidays above. Seeing them together makes it easier to spread costs, line up child care and pick which weekends stay open for rest.

Labor Day 2027 at a glance

• Date: Monday, September 6, 2027.
• Rule: the first Monday in September.
• Long weekend: Saturday, September 4, to Monday, September 6.
• Closed: federal offices and Federal Reserve Banks.
• Labor Sunday: September 5, 2027.
• First Labor Day: September 5, 1882, in New York City.
• Next year: Monday, September 4, 2028.

For every federal holiday of the year in one place, see our holiday calendar.