For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, December 11, 2025 USDL-25-1558
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 -- SEPTEMBER 2025
Unemployment rates were higher in September in 8 states, lower in 2 states, and stable in 40
states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Eighteen states and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 9 states
had decreases, and 23 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 September 2024.
In September 2025, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 1 state, decreased in 1 state, and
was essentially unchanged in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Over the year, nonfarm
payroll employment increased in 15 states and was essentially unchanged in 35 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.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Federal Government Shutdown |
| |
| Publication of September data was delayed by more than 6 weeks because of a lapse in |
| federal appropriations. Collection of September data for the household survey, which |
| provides the primary inputs to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, |
| had been completed in accordance with our normal schedule prior to the federal government |
| shutdown. The September LAUS data in this news release will not be revised until annual |
| processing. September estimates from the establishment survey include both data collected |
| on our normal schedule prior to the shutdown and also September data that businesses |
| self-reported electronically during the shutdown. As a result, the establishment survey |
| collection rate (80.2 percent) for this initial release of September 2025 data is higher |
| than usual. |
| |
| BLS will not publish an October 2025 State Employment and Unemployment news release. |
| Establishment survey data for October, as well as revised data for September, will be |
| published with the November 2025 data. Household survey data were not collected for the |
| October 2025 reference period due to a lapse in appropriations and will not be collected |
| retroactively. For both surveys, the collection period for November 2025 data was extended, |
| and extra processing time will be needed. The State Employment and Unemployment news release |
| for November 2025 is scheduled to be published on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. |
| (ET). |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________|
Unemployment
South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in September, 2.0 percent. The District of Columbia
had the highest unemployment rate, 6.2 percent. The next highest rate was in California, 5.6
percent. In total, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.4 percent,
3 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 September, eight states had unemployment rate increases: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey,
New York, and West Virginia (+0.2 percentage point each) and Florida, Montana, and
Pennsylvania (+0.1 point each). Two states had rate decreases: Hawaii (-0.2 percentage point)
and Colorado (-0.1 point). The remaining 40 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.)
Eighteen states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from September
2024, the largest of which was in Oregon (+1.0 percentage point). Nine states had
over-the-year rate decreases, the largest of which was in Indiana (-0.7 percentage point).
Twenty-three 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 September 2025, nonfarm payroll employment increased in Missouri (+18,300, or +0.6
percent), decreased in New York (-27,000, or -0.3 percent), and was essentially unchanged in
48 states and the District of Columbia. (See tables D and 3.)
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 15 states and was essentially unchanged
in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The largest job gains occurred in Texas (+168,000),
Pennsylvania (+99,900), and North Carolina (+79,700). The largest percentage increases
occurred in South Carolina (+2.3 percent), Idaho (+1.9 percent), and New Mexico
(+1.8 percent). (See table E.)
_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for September is scheduled to
be released on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and
Unemployment news release for November 2025 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January
7, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
______________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to the Establishment Survey Birth-Death Model |
| |
| 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., September 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States .......................| 4.4
|
Alabama .............................| 2.8
California ..........................| 5.6
District of Columbia ................| 6.2
Florida .............................| 3.9
Georgia .............................| 3.4
Hawaii ..............................| 2.5
Idaho ...............................| 3.7
Indiana .............................| 3.7
Iowa ................................| 3.7
Maine ...............................| 3.2
|
Minnesota ...........................| 3.7
Montana .............................| 3.0
Nebraska ............................| 3.0
Nevada ..............................| 5.3
New Hampshire .......................| 3.0
New Jersey ..........................| 5.2
North Carolina ......................| 3.7
North Dakota ........................| 2.6
Oklahoma ............................| 3.2
South Dakota ........................| 2.0
|
Tennessee ...........................| 3.6
Utah ................................| 3.4
Vermont .............................| 2.5
Virginia ............................| 3.5
Wisconsin ...........................| 3.1
Wyoming .............................| 3.3
--------------------------------------------------------------
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from August 2025 to September 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | August | September | change
| 2025 | 2025 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado .......................| 4.2 | 4.1 | -0.1
Delaware .......................| 4.3 | 4.5 | .2
Florida ........................| 3.8 | 3.9 | .1
Hawaii .........................| 2.7 | 2.5 | -.2
Maryland .......................| 3.6 | 3.8 | .2
Montana ........................| 2.9 | 3.0 | .1
New Jersey .....................| 5.0 | 5.2 | .2
New York .......................| 4.0 | 4.2 | .2
Pennsylvania ...................| 4.0 | 4.1 | .1
West Virginia ..................| 3.8 | 4.0 | .2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from September 2024 to September 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | September | September | change
| 2024 | 2025 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 3.3 | 2.8 | -0.5
Arizona ........................| 3.8 | 4.2 | .4
Arkansas .......................| 3.5 | 3.9 | .4
California .....................| 5.5 | 5.6 | .1
Colorado .......................| 4.5 | 4.1 | -.4
Connecticut ....................| 3.2 | 3.8 | .6
Delaware .......................| 3.6 | 4.5 | .9
District of Columbia ...........| 5.3 | 6.2 | .9
Florida ........................| 3.5 | 3.9 | .4
Georgia ........................| 3.6 | 3.4 | -.2
| | |
Hawaii .........................| 3.0 | 2.5 | -.5
Illinois .......................| 5.0 | 4.4 | -.6
Indiana ........................| 4.4 | 3.7 | -.7
Iowa ...........................| 3.3 | 3.7 | .4
Kentucky .......................| 5.3 | 4.7 | -.6
Maryland .......................| 3.2 | 3.8 | .6
Massachusetts ..................| 4.2 | 4.7 | .5
Minnesota ......................| 3.1 | 3.7 | .6
Mississippi ....................| 3.4 | 3.8 | .4
Missouri .......................| 3.7 | 4.1 | .4
| | |
Nevada .........................| 5.7 | 5.3 | -.4
New Hampshire ..................| 2.7 | 3.0 | .3
New Jersey .....................| 4.6 | 5.2 | .6
New York .......................| 4.4 | 4.2 | -.2
Ohio ...........................| 4.4 | 4.8 | .4
Oregon .........................| 4.2 | 5.2 | 1.0
Pennsylvania ...................| 3.7 | 4.1 | .4
Virginia .......................| 2.9 | 3.5 | .6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
August 2025 to September 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-month change(p)
State | August | September |---------------------------
| 2025 | 2025(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Missouri .....................| 3,022,900 | 3,041,200 | 18,300 | 0.6
New York .....................| 10,009,100 | 9,982,100 | -27,000 | -.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
September 2024 to September 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-year change(p)
State | September | September |---------------------------
| 2024 | 2025(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona ......................| 3,224,200 | 3,256,800 | 32,600 | 1.0
Arkansas .....................| 1,367,700 | 1,389,300 | 21,600 | 1.6
Idaho ........................| 866,100 | 882,500 | 16,400 | 1.9
Minnesota ....................| 3,017,900 | 3,060,000 | 42,100 | 1.4
Missouri .....................| 2,992,300 | 3,041,200 | 48,900 | 1.6
New Mexico ...................| 888,400 | 904,500 | 16,100 | 1.8
New York .....................| 9,908,800 | 9,982,100 | 73,300 | .7
North Carolina ...............| 5,027,000 | 5,106,700 | 79,700 | 1.6
Ohio .........................| 5,658,400 | 5,723,800 | 65,400 | 1.2
Oklahoma .....................| 1,780,300 | 1,805,100 | 24,800 | 1.4
| | | |
Pennsylvania .................| 6,153,000 | 6,252,900 | 99,900 | 1.6
South Carolina ...............| 2,366,500 | 2,420,800 | 54,300 | 2.3
Tennessee ....................| 3,375,900 | 3,411,700 | 35,800 | 1.1
Texas ........................| 14,175,800 | 14,343,800 | 168,000 | 1.2
Utah .........................| 1,749,800 | 1,779,500 | 29,700 | 1.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
United States Department of Labor
