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

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, September 9, 2025 		                       USDL-25-1354

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 2025


The average absolute preliminary benchmark revision across all states and the District of
Columbia was 0.7 percent for March 2025, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported
today. In accordance with usual practice, final benchmark data for all CES state and
metropolitan area series are scheduled to be released in March 2026 with the publication of
the January 2026 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 (UI) tax records that
nearly all employers are required to file with state workforce agencies. The final benchmark
will reflect revisions to all not seasonally adjusted data from April 2024 to December 2025,
all seasonally adjusted data from January 2021 to December 2025, and select series subject to
historical revisions before April 2024.

Summary of revisions at the state level

The average absolute preliminary benchmark revision across all states and the District of
Columbia was 0.7 percent for March 2025. Compared with sample-based estimates, preliminary
benchmark levels were lower in 38 states and the District for March 2025 and higher in 12
states. For all states and the District, the preliminary benchmark revisions to total nonfarm
employment for March 2025 ranged from -1.8 percent in Colorado to +1.1 percent in Arizona and
New York. The average preliminary revision across all states was -0.5 percent. (See table 1.)

Summary of revisions for large metropolitan areas

The average absolute preliminary benchmark revision across the 56 metropolitan areas with a
2020 Census population of 1 million or more was 0.8 percent for March 2025. Compared with
sample-based estimates, preliminary benchmark levels were lower in 36 areas for March 2025 and
higher in 20 areas. Among these large metropolitan areas, the preliminary benchmark revisions
to total nonfarm employment for March 2025 ranged from -2.4 percent in Orlando-Kissimmee-
Sanford, FL, 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 2025 will be
released in March 2026 with the January 2026 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. Historical data for preliminary and final
benchmark revisions are available for download at
www.bls.gov/sae/publications/preliminary-benchmark-announcement.htm#HistoricalData. 

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