For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 8, 2026 USDL-26-0598
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 -- JANUARY 2026
Unemployment rates were higher in January in 1 state and stable in 49 states and the District of
Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Fourteen states and the District had
jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 2 states had decreases, and 34 states had little
change. The national unemployment rate, 4.3 percent, changed little over the month but was 0.3
percentage point higher than in January 2025.
In January 2026, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 5 states, decreased in the District of
Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 45 states. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment
increased in 4 states, decreased in Maryland and the District, and was essentially unchanged in 45
states.
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.
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| |
| Changes to Employment and Unemployment Data |
| |
| In accordance with standard practices, historical data in the tables of this news release |
| have been revised. For detailed information on changes to the data, see the box notes at |
| the end of the news release. |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|
Unemployment
Hawaii and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates in January, 2.2 percent each. The District of
Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 6.7 percent. The next highest rates were in California
and Delaware, 5.4 percent each. In total, 20 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S.
figure of 4.3 percent, 7 states and the District had higher rates, and 23 states had rates that
were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)
In January, Florida had the only unemployment rate change (+0.2 percentage point). The remaining 49
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
change. (See table B.)
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from January 2025, the
largest of which was in Delaware (+1.3 percentage points). The only over-the-year rate decreases
occurred in Indiana and Ohio (-0.5 percentage point each). Thirty-four 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 January 2026, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 5 states, decreased in the District of
Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 45 states. Employment increased in California (+93,500,
or +0.5 percent), Texas (+40,100, or +0.3 percent), Illinois (+18,000, or +0.3 percent), Indiana
(+11,200, or +0.3 percent), and Iowa (+6,400, or +0.4 percent). Employment decreased in the
District (-5,400, or -0.7 percent). (See tables D and 3.)
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 4 states, decreased in Maryland and the
District of Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 45 states. The job gains occurred in
California (+131,200, or +0.7 percent), Texas (+112,200, or +0.8 percent), South Carolina (+31,500,
or +1.3 percent), and Nevada (+30,200, or +1.9 percent). Employment decreased in Maryland (-49,300,
or -1.7 percent) and the District (-45,300, or -5.9 percent). (See table E.)
_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for January is scheduled to be
released on Thursday, April 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and Unemployment
news release for February is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m.
(ET).
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| |
| Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) Data |
| |
| Effective with this news release, the civilian labor force and unemployment data for the |
| states and the District of Columbia presented in tables 1 and 2 have been revised to |
| incorporate updated inputs, new population controls, re-estimation of models, and |
| adjustment to new census division and national control totals. The population controls |
| reflect replacement of the "blended base" method that had been in use since the start of |
| post-censal estimation for the 2020s with data adapted from the 2020 Modified Age and |
| Race Census, or MARC, file. Data in table 1 were re-seasonally adjusted as well. Both |
| not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted data were subject to revision back to |
| January 2021. |
| |
| Due to the lapse in federal appropriations, October 2025 data collection did not occur for |
| the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides the primary inputs to LAUS estimation. |
| Concurrent with this news release, statewide averages for 2025 based on the 11 months for |
| which CPS data collection occurred were published in the BLS time-series database. These |
| 11-month averages are not strictly comparable to annual averages for prior years. |
| |
| Additional information about the impact of the shutdown on the household survey is |
| available online at |
| www.bls.gov/cps/methods/2025-federal-government-shutdown-impact-cps.htm. |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|
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| |
| Changes to Current Employment Statistics (CES) Data |
| |
| Effective with this news release, all nonfarm payroll employment estimates for states and |
| areas presented in tables 3 and 4 have been adjusted to 2025 benchmark levels. Not |
| seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2024 and seasonally adjusted data beginning |
| with January 2021 were subject to revision. Some not seasonally adjusted and seasonally |
| adjusted series have been revised as far back as 1990. Information on annual benchmark |
| processing is available at www.bls.gov/web/laus/benchmark.htm. |
|____________________________________________________________________________________________|
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., January 2026, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 4.3
|
Alabama .............................| 2.7
California ..........................| 5.4
Delaware ............................| 5.4
District of Columbia ................| 6.7
Georgia .............................| 3.5
Hawaii ..............................| 2.2
Idaho ...............................| 3.7
Indiana .............................| 3.4
Iowa ................................| 3.4
Maine ...............................| 3.3
|
Michigan ............................| 5.0
Mississippi .........................| 3.6
Montana .............................| 3.6
Nebraska ............................| 3.0
Nevada ..............................| 5.3
New Hampshire .......................| 3.2
New Jersey ..........................| 5.2
North Carolina ......................| 3.8
North Dakota ........................| 2.6
Oregon ..............................| 5.2
|
South Dakota ........................| 2.2
Tennessee ...........................| 3.5
Utah ................................| 3.8
Vermont .............................| 2.7
Virginia ............................| 3.7
Washington ..........................| 5.0
Wisconsin ...........................| 3.3
Wyoming .............................| 3.6
--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Data are not preliminary.
(p) = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from December 2025 to January 2026, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | December | January | change(p)
| 2025 | 2026(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Florida ........................| 4.3 | 4.5 | 0.2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from January 2025 to January 2026, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | January | January | change(p)
| 2025 | 2026(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arkansas .......................| 3.8 | 4.4 | 0.6
Connecticut ....................| 3.6 | 4.5 | .9
Delaware .......................| 4.1 | 5.4 | 1.3
District of Columbia ...........| 5.7 | 6.7 | 1.0
Florida ........................| 3.5 | 4.5 | 1.0
Indiana ........................| 3.9 | 3.4 | -.5
Maryland .......................| 3.5 | 4.3 | .8
Massachusetts ..................| 4.2 | 4.7 | .5
Minnesota ......................| 3.4 | 4.4 | 1.0
Montana ........................| 2.9 | 3.6 | .7
| | |
New York .......................| 4.1 | 4.6 | .5
Ohio ...........................| 4.8 | 4.3 | -.5
Oklahoma .......................| 3.1 | 3.9 | .8
South Carolina .................| 4.1 | 4.9 | .8
Virginia .......................| 3.2 | 3.7 | .5
Washington .....................| 4.4 | 5.0 | .6
West Virginia ..................| 3.8 | 4.6 | .8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
December 2025 to January 2026, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-month change(p)
State | December | January |---------------------------
| 2025 | 2026(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California ...................| 18,062,500 | 18,156,000 | 93,500 | 0.5
District of Columbia .........| 725,600 | 720,200 | -5,400 | -.7
Illinois .....................| 6,148,800 | 6,166,800 | 18,000 | .3
Indiana ......................| 3,241,100 | 3,252,300 | 11,200 | .3
Iowa .........................| 1,578,000 | 1,584,400 | 6,400 | .4
Texas ........................| 14,339,400 | 14,379,500 | 40,100 | .3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
January 2025 to January 2026, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-year change(p)
State | January | January |---------------------------
| 2025 | 2026(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California ...................| 18,024,800 | 18,156,000 | 131,200 | 0.7
District of Columbia .........| 765,500 | 720,200 | -45,300 | -5.9
Maryland .....................| 2,839,900 | 2,790,600 | -49,300 | -1.7
Nevada .......................| 1,571,800 | 1,602,000 | 30,200 | 1.9
South Carolina ...............| 2,374,000 | 2,405,500 | 31,500 | 1.3
Texas ........................| 14,267,300 | 14,379,500 | 112,200 | .8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
United States Department of Labor
