For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, January 27, 2026 USDL-26-0117
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 -- DECEMBER 2025
Unemployment rates were higher in December in 6 states and stable in 44 states and the
District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-one states
and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 8 states had decreases, and
21 states had little change. The national unemployment rate, 4.4 percent, changed little over
the month but was 0.3 percentage point higher than in December 2024.
In December 2025, nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 8 states,
decreased in the District, and was essentially unchanged in 42 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.
Unemployment
Hawaii and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates in December, 2.2 percent each. The
District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 6.7 percent. The next highest rates
were in California and New Jersey, 5.5 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. In total, 19
states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.4 percent, 5 states and the
District had higher rates, and 26 states had rates that were not appreciably different from
that of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)
In December, six states had unemployment rate increases: Delaware (+0.3 percentage point);
Illinois (+0.2 point); and Florida, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Washington (+0.1 point each).
The remaining 44 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-one states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from December
2024, the largest of which were in Delaware (+1.6 percentage points) and the District (+1.4
points). Eight states had over-the-year rate decreases, the largest of which was in Indiana
(-0.9 percentage point). The next largest decreases occurred in Colorado, Hawaii, and Kentucky
(-0.8 percentage point each). Twenty-one states had jobless rates that were not notably
different from those of a year earlier. (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
In December 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 8 states, decreased in the District of
Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 42 states. The largest job gains occurred in Texas
(+132,500), North Carolina (+80,700), and Pennsylvania (+76,600). The largest percentage
increases occurred in Missouri (+1.8 percent), North Carolina (+1.6 percent), and South
Carolina (+1.4 percent). Employment decreased in the District (-32,400, or -4.2 percent). (See
table D.)
_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for December 2025 is scheduled
to be released on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and
Unemployment news release for January 2026 will be scheduled for April.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2026 data in April, the civilian labor force and |
| unemployment data for the states and the District of Columbia presented in tables 1 and |
| 2 of this news release will be 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 will 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 Race and Age, or MARC, file. Data in table 1 will be |
| re-seasonally adjusted as well. Both not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted data |
| are subject to revision back to at least 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. |
| At the same time as the January 2026 data and the revisions for states through 2025 are |
| released, statewide averages for 2025 based on the 11 months for which CPS data collection |
| occurred will be published in the BLS time-series database. These 11-month averages will |
| not be 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. |
|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Current Employment Statistics (CES) Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2026 data in April, all nonfarm payroll employment |
| estimates for states and areas presented in tables 3 and 4 of this news release will be |
| adjusted 2025 benchmark levels. Not seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2024 and |
| seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 2021 are subject to revision. Some not |
| seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted series may be revised as far back as 1990. |
| Also effective with the release of January 2026 data, the establishment survey will change |
| the birth-death model by incorporating current sample information each month. The change |
| follows the same methodology applied to the April through October 2024 forecasts during the |
| 2024 post-benchmark period (see question 9 in the CES Birth-Death Model Frequently Asked |
| Questions page at www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbdqa.htm). |
|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., December 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 4.4
|
Alabama .............................| 2.7
California ..........................| 5.5
Delaware ............................| 5.2
District of Columbia ................| 6.7
Georgia .............................| 3.6
Hawaii ..............................| 2.2
Idaho ...............................| 3.6
Indiana .............................| 3.5
Iowa ................................| 3.5
Maine ...............................| 3.2
|
Montana .............................| 3.4
Nebraska ............................| 3.0
Nevada ..............................| 5.2
New Hampshire .......................| 3.1
New Jersey ..........................| 5.4
North Dakota ........................| 2.6
Oklahoma ............................| 3.6
Oregon ..............................| 5.2
South Dakota ........................| 2.2
Tennessee ...........................| 3.6
|
Utah ................................| 3.6
Vermont .............................| 2.6
Virginia ............................| 3.6
Wisconsin ...........................| 3.1
Wyoming .............................| 3.4
--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Data are not preliminary.
(p) = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from November 2025 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | November | December | change(p)
| 2025 | 2025(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Delaware .......................| 4.9 | 5.2 | 0.3
Florida ........................| 4.2 | 4.3 | .1
Illinois .......................| 4.4 | 4.6 | .2
Minnesota ......................| 4.0 | 4.1 | .1
Oklahoma .......................| 3.5 | 3.6 | .1
Washington .....................| 4.6 | 4.7 | .1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from December 2024 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | December | December | change(p)
| 2024 | 2025(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 3.3 | 2.7 | -0.6
Arizona ........................| 3.8 | 4.3 | .5
Arkansas .......................| 3.6 | 4.2 | .6
Colorado .......................| 4.6 | 3.8 | -.8
Connecticut ....................| 3.2 | 4.2 | 1.0
Delaware .......................| 3.6 | 5.2 | 1.6
District of Columbia ...........| 5.3 | 6.7 | 1.4
Florida ........................| 3.4 | 4.3 | .9
Hawaii .........................| 3.0 | 2.2 | -.8
Illinois .......................| 4.9 | 4.6 | -.3
| | |
Indiana ........................| 4.4 | 3.5 | -.9
Kentucky .......................| 5.3 | 4.5 | -.8
Louisiana ......................| 4.6 | 4.2 | -.4
Maryland .......................| 3.1 | 4.2 | 1.1
Massachusetts ..................| 4.1 | 4.8 | .7
Minnesota ......................| 3.0 | 4.1 | 1.1
Missouri .......................| 3.6 | 3.9 | .3
Montana ........................| 2.9 | 3.4 | .5
Nevada .........................| 5.8 | 5.2 | -.6
New Hampshire ..................| 2.8 | 3.1 | .3
| | |
New Jersey .....................| 4.6 | 5.4 | .8
Oklahoma .......................| 3.3 | 3.6 | .3
Oregon .........................| 4.3 | 5.2 | .9
Pennsylvania ...................| 3.7 | 4.2 | .5
South Carolina .................| 4.4 | 4.8 | .4
South Dakota ...................| 1.9 | 2.2 | .3
Utah ...........................| 3.3 | 3.6 | .3
Virginia .......................| 2.9 | 3.6 | .7
Washington .....................| 4.4 | 4.7 | .3
West Virginia ..................| 4.1 | 4.6 | .5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
December 2024 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-year change(p)
State | December | December |---------------------------
| 2024 | 2025(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
District of Columbia .........| 772,200 | 739,800 | -32,400 | -4.2
Minnesota ....................| 3,034,400 | 3,068,500 | 34,100 | 1.1
Missouri .....................| 3,000,000 | 3,052,800 | 52,800 | 1.8
New York .....................| 9,946,500 | 10,020,400 | 73,900 | .7
North Carolina ...............| 5,044,300 | 5,125,000 | 80,700 | 1.6
Ohio .........................| 5,654,600 | 5,708,900 | 54,300 | 1.0
Pennsylvania .................| 6,180,800 | 6,257,400 | 76,600 | 1.2
South Carolina ...............| 2,383,700 | 2,417,300 | 33,600 | 1.4
Texas ........................| 14,208,500 | 14,341,000 | 132,500 | .9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
United States Department of Labor
