State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, June 24, 2025                                      USDL-25-1059

Technical information: 
 Employment:    (202) 691-6559  *  sminfo@bls.gov    *  www.bls.gov/sae 
 Unemployment:  (202) 691-6392  *  lausinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/lau 

Media contact:  (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                       STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- MAY 2025
                       
                       
Unemployment rates were higher in May in 3 states, lower in 2 states, and stable in 45 states 
and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-four 
states and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 4 states had decreases,
and 22 states had little change. The national unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2 percent 
but was 0.2 percentage point higher than in May 2024.

In May 2025, nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in all 50 states and the 
District of Columbia. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 18 states and was
essentially unchanged in 32 states and the District.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and 
unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of households. These data pertain to 
people by where they reside. The employment data are from an establishment survey that 
measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on 
payrolls defined by where the establishments are located. For more information about the 
concepts and statistical methodologies used by these two programs, see the Technical Note.

Unemployment

South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in May, 1.8 percent. The District of Columbia had the 
highest unemployment rate, 5.9 percent, followed by Nevada, 5.5 percent, and Michigan, 5.4 percent. 
In total, 21 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.2 percent, 4 states 
and the District had higher rates, and 25 states had rates that were not appreciably different 
from that of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)

In May, three states had unemployment rate increases: Massachusetts (+0.2 percentage point) and Iowa 
and Virginia (+0.1 point each). Two states had rate decreases: Indiana and New York (-0.2 percentage
point each). The remaining 45 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not 
notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large 
numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)

Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from May 2024, the 
largest of which was in Mississippi (+1.2 percentage points). Four states had over-the-year rate 
decreases, the largest of which was in Indiana (-0.4 percentage point), followed by Illinois, New 
York, and West Virginia (-0.3 point each). Twenty-two states had jobless rates that were not 
notably different from those of a year earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large 
numerically as the significant changes. (See table C.)

Nonfarm Payroll Employment

In May 2025, nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in all 50 states and the District of 
Columbia. (See table 3.)

Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 18 states and was essentially unchanged in 
32 states and the District of Columbia. The largest job gains occurred in Texas (+213,300), Florida 
(+148,700), and New York (+100,400). The largest percentage increases occurred in South Carolina 
(+2.7 percent), Idaho (+2.6 percent), and Utah (+2.4 percent). (See table D.)

_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for May is scheduled to be released 
on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and Unemployment news release 
for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 18, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
                        
 ____________________________________________________________________________________________
|											     |
|             Minor Corrections to Some Household Survey Estimates for April 2025	     |
|											     |
| Corrections were made to address minor errors in some Current Population Survey (CPS)      |
| estimates for April 2025. These errors were associated with the introduction of a          |
| redesigned household survey sample, and the impact of the correction was negligible.       |
| The April revised state estimates in tables 1 and 2 of this news release reflect these     |
| corrected CPS inputs. More information is available at                                     |
| www.bls.gov/bls/errata/cps-corrections-april-2025.htm.                                     |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|


Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., May 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
                State                |          Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................|           4.2
                                     |
Alabama .............................|           3.3
California ..........................|           5.3
District of Columbia ................|           5.9
Florida .............................|           3.7
Georgia .............................|           3.5
Hawaii ..............................|           2.8
Idaho ...............................|           3.6
Iowa ................................|           3.6
Maine ...............................|           3.4
Maryland ............................|           3.2
                                     |
Michigan ............................|           5.4
Minnesota ...........................|           3.3
Montana .............................|           2.8
Nebraska ............................|           3.0
Nevada ..............................|           5.5
New Hampshire .......................|           3.1
North Dakota ........................|           2.5
Ohio ................................|           4.9
Oklahoma ............................|           3.1
South Dakota ........................|           1.8
                                     |
Tennessee ...........................|           3.5
Utah ................................|           3.2
Vermont .............................|           2.6
Virginia ............................|           3.4
Wisconsin ...........................|           3.3
Wyoming .............................|           3.3
--------------------------------------------------------------
   (1) Data are not preliminary.
   (p) = preliminary.


Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from April 2025 to May 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                |          Rate         |
                                |-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
             State              |   April   |    May    |    change(p)
                                |   2025    |  2025(p)  |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana ........................|     3.9   |     3.7   |      -0.2
Iowa ...........................|     3.5   |     3.6   |        .1
Massachusetts ..................|     4.6   |     4.8   |        .2
New York .......................|     4.2   |     4.0   |       -.2
Virginia .......................|     3.3   |     3.4   |        .1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
   (p) = preliminary.
    
  
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from May 2024 to May 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                |          Rate         |
                                |-----------|-----------|  Over-the-year
             State              |    May    |    May    |    change(p)
                                |   2024    |  2025(p)  |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................|     2.9   |     3.3   |       0.4
Arizona ........................|     3.4   |     4.1   |        .7
Arkansas .......................|     3.4   |     3.7   |        .3
California .....................|     5.2   |     5.3   |        .1
Colorado .......................|     4.1   |     4.8   |        .7
Connecticut ....................|     3.1   |     3.8   |        .7
District of Columbia ...........|     5.2   |     5.9   |        .7
Florida ........................|     3.3   |     3.7   |        .4
Illinois .......................|     5.1   |     4.8   |       -.3
Indiana ........................|     4.1   |     3.7   |       -.4
                                |           |           |
Iowa ...........................|     2.9   |     3.6   |        .7
Kansas .........................|     3.5   |     3.8   |        .3
Louisiana ......................|     4.1   |     4.5   |        .4
Maine ..........................|     2.9   |     3.4   |        .5
Massachusetts ..................|     4.0   |     4.8   |        .8
Michigan .......................|     4.5   |     5.4   |        .9
Mississippi ....................|     2.8   |     4.0   |       1.2
Nebraska .......................|     2.7   |     3.0   |        .3
New Hampshire ..................|     2.5   |     3.1   |        .6
New Jersey .....................|     4.5   |     4.8   |        .3
                                |           |           |
New York .......................|     4.3   |     4.0   |       -.3
Ohio ...........................|     4.2   |     4.9   |        .7
Oregon .........................|     4.1   |     4.8   |        .7
Pennsylvania ...................|     3.6   |     3.9   |        .3
Rhode Island ...................|     4.3   |     4.9   |        .6
Vermont ........................|     2.2   |     2.6   |        .4
Virginia .......................|     2.8   |     3.4   |        .6
West Virginia ..................|     4.1   |     3.8   |       -.3
Wisconsin ......................|     2.9   |     3.3   |        .4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
   (p) = preliminary.
   
    
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from May 2024 to
May 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              |             |             |  Over-the-year change(p)
            State             |     May     |     May     |---------------------------
                              |     2024    |    2025(p)  |    Level    |   Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ......................|   2,189,900 |   2,215,800 |      25,900 |      1.2
Arkansas .....................|   1,362,300 |   1,380,600 |      18,300 |      1.3
Florida ......................|   9,938,000 |  10,086,700 |     148,700 |      1.5
Hawaii .......................|     638,200 |     652,100 |      13,900 |      2.2
Idaho ........................|     861,000 |     883,400 |      22,400 |      2.6
Michigan .....................|   4,489,400 |   4,538,300 |      48,900 |      1.1
Minnesota ....................|   3,012,000 |   3,056,000 |      44,000 |      1.5
New Hampshire ................|     698,800 |     711,100 |      12,300 |      1.8
New Mexico ...................|     885,400 |     902,900 |      17,500 |      2.0
New York .....................|   9,869,200 |   9,969,600 |     100,400 |      1.0
                              |             |             |             |       
North Carolina ...............|   5,024,000 |   5,091,900 |      67,900 |      1.4
Ohio .........................|   5,649,900 |   5,705,600 |      55,700 |      1.0
Oklahoma .....................|   1,777,000 |   1,801,600 |      24,600 |      1.4
Pennsylvania .................|   6,134,200 |   6,223,400 |      89,200 |      1.5
South Carolina ...............|   2,350,600 |   2,413,100 |      62,500 |      2.7
Texas ........................|  14,127,500 |  14,340,800 |     213,300 |      1.5
Utah .........................|   1,739,400 |   1,781,500 |      42,100 |      2.4
Virginia .....................|   4,226,700 |   4,276,100 |      49,400 |      1.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   (p) = preliminary.
   
   
   

Technical Note

This news release presents civilian labor force and unemployment data for states and selected substate
areas from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (tables 1 and 2). Also presented are
nonfarm payroll employment estimates by state and industry supersector from the Current Employment
Statistics (CES) program (tables 3 and 4). The LAUS and CES programs are both federal-state cooperative
endeavors.

Civilian labor force and unemployment—from the LAUS program

   Definitions. The civilian labor force and unemployment data are based on the same concepts and
definitions as those used for the official national estimates obtained from the Current Population Survey
(CPS), a sample survey of households that is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the
U.S. Census Bureau. The LAUS program measures employed people and unemployed people on a place of-residence
basis. The universe for each is the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and older.
Employed people are those who did any work at all for pay or profit in the reference week (typically the
week including the 12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family business or farm,
plus those not working who had a job from which they were temporarily absent, whether or not paid, for
such reasons as bad weather, labor-management dispute, illness, or vacation.

   Unemployed people are those who were not employed during the reference week (based on the definition
above), had actively looked for a job sometime in the 4-week period ending with the reference week, and
were currently available for work; people on layoff expecting recall need not be looking for work to be
counted as unemployed. The civilian labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed people. The
unemployment rate is the number of unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force.

   Method of estimation. Estimates for 48 states, the District of Columbia, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale metropolitan division, New York City, and the balances of California and New York State are
produced using time-series models. This method, which underwent substantial enhancement at the beginning
of 2021, utilizes data from several sources, including the CPS, the CES, and state unemployment insurance
(UI) programs. Estimates for the state of California are derived by summing the estimates for the Los
Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan division and the balance of California. Similarly, estimates
for New York State are derived by summing the estimates for New York City and the balance of New York
State. Estimates for five additional substate areas (the Cleveland, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, and Seattle-
Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan areas and the Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall
metropolitan divisions) and their respective balances of state are produced using a similar model-based
approach. The small number of areas and divisions selected for LAUS time-series modeling reflect the
delineations per U.S. Office of Management and Budget Bulletin No. 23-01.

   Each month, estimates for the nine census divisions first are modeled using inputs from the CPS only
and controlled to the national totals. State estimates then are controlled to their respective census
division totals. Substate and balance-of-state estimates for the five areas noted above also are controlled
to their respective state totals. This tiered process of controlling model-based estimates to the U.S. 
totals is called real-time benchmarking. Estimates for Puerto Rico are derived from a monthly household
survey similar to the CPS. A more detailed description of the estimation procedures is available from BLS
upon request.

   Annual revisions. Civilian labor force and unemployment data for prior years reflect adjustments made
after the end of each year. The adjusted estimates reflect updated population data from the U.S. Census
Bureau, any revisions in the other data sources, and model re-estimation. In most years, historical data
for the most recent five years are revised near the beginning of each calendar year, prior to the release
of January estimates. With the implementation of synthetic intercensal population controls in 2025 to
smooth decennial discontinuities, historical data were re-estimated back to the series beginnings in
1976, 1990, or 1994. For more information, see www.bls.gov/lau/geography-and-data-changes-in-2025.htm.

   Seasonal adjustment. The LAUS models decompose the estimates of employed and unemployed people into
trend, seasonal, and irregular components. The benchmarked signals of employed and unemployed people first
are adjusted using an X-11 type of seasonal adjustment filter. The adjusted data then are smoothed using
a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) filter. The smoothed-seasonally adjusted estimates of employed
and unemployed people are summed to derive the civilian labor force, and the unemployment rate then is
calculated as the unemployed percent of the civilian labor force. The resulting smoothed-seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate estimates are analyzed in this news release and published on the BLS website.

   During estimation for the current year, the smoothed-seasonally adjusted estimates for a given month
are created using an asymmetric filter that incorporates information from previous observations only.
For annual revisions, historical data are smoothed using a two-sided filter.
     
Employment—from the CES program

   Definitions. Employment data refer to people on establishment payrolls who receive pay for any part
of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. People are counted at their place of work
rather than at their place of residence; those appearing on more than one payroll are counted on each
payroll. Industries are classified on the basis of their principal activity in accordance with the 2022
version of the North American Industry Classification System. 

   Method of estimation. CES State and Area employment data are produced using several estimation
procedures. Where possible, these data are produced using a "weighted link relative" estimation technique
in which a ratio of current month weighted employment to that of the previous-month weighted employment
is computed from a sample of establishments reporting for both months. The estimates of employment for
the current month are then obtained by multiplying these ratios by the previous month’s employment
estimates. The weighted link relative technique is utilized for data series where the sample size meets
certain statistical criteria. For some employment series, the estimates are produced with a model that
uses direct sample estimates (described above) combined with other regressors to compensate for smaller
sample sizes. 

   Annual revisions. Employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs, called
benchmarks, derived principally from tax reports that are submitted by employers who are covered under
state unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The benchmark information is used to adjust the monthly estimates
between the new benchmark and the preceding one and to establish the level of employment for the new
benchmark month. Thus, the benchmarking process establishes the level of employment, and the sample is
used to measure the month-to-month changes in the level for the subsequent months. Information on recent
benchmark revisions is available online at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.htm.

   Seasonal adjustment. Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted at the statewide expanded
supersector level. In some cases, the seasonally adjusted payroll employment total is computed by
aggregating the independently adjusted supersector series. In other cases, the seasonally adjusted
payroll employment total is independently adjusted. Revisions to historical data for the most recent 
five years are made once a year, coincident with annual benchmark adjustments.

   Payroll employment data are seasonally adjusted concurrently, using all available estimates, including
those for the current month, to develop sample-based seasonal factors. Concurrent sample-based factors
are created every month for the current month’s preliminary estimate as well as the previous month’s final
estimate. 

   Caution on aggregating state data. State estimation procedures are designed to produce accurate data
for each individual state. BLS independently develops a national employment series; state estimates are
not forced to sum to national totals. Each state series is subject to larger relative sampling and
nonsampling errors than the national series. Summing state estimates cumulates individual state-level
errors and can cause significant distortions at an aggregate level. Due to these statistical limitations,
BLS does not compile a "sum-of-states" employment series and cautions users that such a series is subject
to a relatively large and volatile error structure.

Reliability of the estimates

   The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling
and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling
variability—that is, variation that occurs by chance because a sample rather than the entire population
is surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced
into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived from sample surveys
are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific estimation processes used.

   Use of error measures. Changes in state unemployment rates and state nonfarm payroll employment are
cited in the analysis of this release only if they have been determined to be statistically significant
at the 90-percent confidence level. Furthermore, state unemployment rates for the current month generally
are cited only if they have been determined to be significantly different from the U.S. rate at the
90-percent confidence level. The underlying model-based standard error measures for unemployment rates
and over-the-month and over-the-year changes in rates are available at www.bls.gov/lau/lastderr.htm. The
underlying standard error measures for over-the-month and over-the-year changes in state payroll employment
data at the total nonfarm and supersector levels are available at www.bls.gov/web/laus/790stderr.htm.
Measures of nonsampling error are not available.

Additional information

   Estimates of civilian labor force and unemployment from the LAUS program, as well as nonfarm payroll
employment from the CES program, for metropolitan areas and metropolitan divisions are available in the
news release Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment. Estimates of civilian labor force, employed
people, unemployed people, and unemployment rates for approximately 7,600 subnational areas are available
online at www.bls.gov/lau/. Employment data from the CES program for states and metropolitan areas are
available online at www.bls.gov/sae/. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability,
please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.