Current Employment Statistics Preliminary Benchmark (State and Area) News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, August 28, 2026                                    USDL-26-1426

Technical information:  (202) 691-6559  *  sminfo@bls.gov    *  www.bls.gov/sae 
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                   CURRENT EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS PRELIMINARY BENCHMARK
                             (STATE AND AREA) - MARCH 2026


The average absolute preliminary benchmark revision across all states and the District of Columbia 
was 0.4 percent for March 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In accordance 
with usual practice, final benchmark data for all CES state and metropolitan area series are 
scheduled to be published in March 2027 with the publication of the January 2027 State Employment 
and Unemployment news release.

Each year, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates are benchmarked to 
comprehensive counts of employment from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). These 
counts are derived primarily from state unemployment insurance tax records that nearly all 
employers are required to file with state workforce agencies. Final benchmark data for all CES 
state and metropolitan area series are scheduled to be released in March 2027 with the January 2027 
State Employment and Unemployment news release. The final benchmark will reflect revisions to all 
not seasonally adjusted data from April 2025 to December 2026, all seasonally adjusted data from 
January 2022 to December 2026, and select series subject to historical revisions before April 2025.

Summary of revisions at the state level

The average absolute preliminary benchmark revision across all states and the District of Columbia 
was 0.4 percent for March 2026. Compared with sample-based estimates, preliminary benchmark levels 
were higher in 28 states and the District for March 2026 and lower in 22 states. For all states 
and the District, the preliminary benchmark revisions to total nonfarm employment for March 2026 
ranged from -1.2 percent in North Dakota to +1.0 percent in Iowa and the District. The average 
preliminary revision across all states and the District was 0.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Summary of revisions for large metropolitan areas

The average absolute preliminary benchmark revision across all of the 56 metropolitan areas with a 
2020 Census population of 1 million or more was 0.6 percent for March 2026. Compared with 
sample-based estimates, preliminary benchmark levels were higher in 33 areas for March 2026 and 
lower in 23 areas. Among these large metropolitan areas, the preliminary benchmark revisions to 
total nonfarm employment for March 2026 ranged from -1.9 percent in Tucson, AZ, to +4.3 percent 
in Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI. The average preliminary revision across all large 
metropolitan areas was +0.2 percent. (See table 2.)

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The final benchmark revisions for states and metropolitan areas for March 2026 are scheduled to
be published in March 2027 with the January 2027 State Employment and Unemployment news release.

Technical Note

This news release presents preliminary benchmark revisions to total nonfarm employment estimates
from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program for all 50 states, the District of Columbia,
and metropolitan areas with a Census 2020 population of 1 million or more. The CES program is a 
federal-state cooperative endeavor.

Each year, CES employment estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive counts of employment from the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. These counts are derived primarily from
state unemployment insurance (UI) tax reports that nearly all employers are required to file with 
state workforce agencies. While most firms are required to pay UI tax for their employees, there
are some types of employees that are exempt from UI tax law but are still within scope for the CES.
Because these employees are not included in the QCEW, CES uses several other sources to generate 
counts of this noncovered employment. More information on noncovered employment is available in the 
CES Handbook of Methods at www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ces/calculation.htm#noncovered-employment.

Method of calculation

Preliminary benchmark revisions are calculated for March of the current year. Noncovered employment
levels for the upcoming benchmark are not available for the release of the preliminary benchmark 
revisions. Therefore, the preliminary benchmark revision is calculated by adding the previous year's 
March noncovered employment level to the current year's March QCEW employment and subtracting the 
current year's March CES estimate of employment: 

Preliminary benchmark revision = (previous year March noncovered employment + current year March QCEW
employment) – current year March CES employment estimate.

Final benchmark revisions are issued each March with the publication of the January State Employment
and Unemployment news release. For more information on the CES benchmarking process for states and
metropolitan areas, see www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.htm.

Additional information

Estimates of nonfarm payroll employment, hours, and earnings from the CES program for states and 
metropolitan areas are available online at www.bls.gov/sae. Archived Current Employment Statistics 
Preliminary Benchmark (State and Area) news releases are available at
www.bls.gov/bls/news-release/home.htm#PRESAE. 

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