For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, January 7, 2026 USDL-26-0018
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 -- NOVEMBER 2025
Unemployment rates were higher in November than a year earlier in 16 states and the District
of Columbia, lower in 8 states, and little different in 26 states, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. October 2025 data from the household survey were not collected
due to the lapse in federal appropriations; therefore, the unemployment analysis in this
news release includes over-the-year changes only. The national unemployment rate, 4.6 percent,
was 0.4 percentage point higher than in November 2024.
In November 2025, nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 12 states,
decreased in the District, and was essentially unchanged in 38 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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| |
| Federal Government Shutdown |
| |
| Publication of November 2025 data was delayed because of a lapse in federal appropriations |
| (from October 1 through November 12). Both the household and establishment surveys required |
| additional data collection and processing time in November. BLS did not publish an October |
| 2025 State Employment and Unemployment news release. |
| |
| For more information, see the additional notes about the impact of the shutdown on the |
| household survey and the establishment survey at the end of this news release. |
|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|
Unemployment
South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in November, 2.1 percent, followed by Hawaii, 2.2
percent. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 6.5 percent. The next
highest rates were in California and New Jersey, 5.5 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. In
total, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.6 percent, 2 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.)
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from November 2024,
the largest of which was in Delaware (+1.3 percentage points). Eight states had over-the-year
rate decreases, the largest of which was in Hawaii (-0.8 percentage point). Twenty-six 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 B.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
In November 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 12 states, decreased in the District of
Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 38 states. The largest job gains occurred in Texas
(+146,300) and Pennsylvania (+97,600), followed by New York and North Carolina (+87,900 each).
The largest percentage increases occurred in Missouri and South Carolina (+2.0 percent each),
followed by North Carolina (+1.7 percent). Employment decreased in the District (-32,800, or
-4.2 percent). (See table C.)
_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for November 2025 is scheduled
to be released on Friday, January 16, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and
Unemployment news release for December 2025 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January
27, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
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| |
| Household Survey Estimates and the Federal Government Shutdown |
| |
| There are no household survey estimates for October 2025. Household survey data, which |
| provide the primary inputs to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, were |
| not collected for October 2025 due to the lapse in appropriations and were not collected |
| retroactively. Therefore, this news release does not include the typical analysis of |
| over-the-month unemployment rate changes from October to November. The November reference |
| period was the week that contained the 12th of the month, a typical reference week. |
| Collection of November data began a day late due to the shutdown and was extended to |
| provide more time for contacting households around the Thanksgiving holiday. The |
| November response rate was lower than usual at 64.0 percent, with response rates at |
| the state level ranging from 47.2 percent to 82.8 percent. |
| |
| The lack of October 2025 data required an adjustment to the statistical weighting process. |
| In the household survey, composite estimation relies on data from the previous month as an |
| input to developing statistical weights for the current month's data. Without October data, |
| the composite weighting formula was adjusted by shifting previously-collected data forward |
| 1 month. |
| |
| Due to the LAUS program's modeling and smoothing procedures for state estimation, it was |
| not possible to develop standard error measures for testing the statistical significance |
| of the 2-month unemployment rate changes for states, as was done for the U.S. household |
| data analysis in the November Employment Situation news release. |
| |
| In the household survey, people are considered employed if they did any work at all for |
| pay or profit during the survey reference week or were temporarily absent from their jobs |
| or businesses. The lapse in appropriations lasted from October 1 through November 12, |
| 2025. The survey reference week was November 9 through 15. Because the government reopened |
| before the end of the November reference week, federal government workers were counted as |
| employed in the household survey. |
| |
| It is not possible to precisely quantify the effect of the federal government shutdown on |
| household survey estimates for November 2025. |
| |
| 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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| |
| Establishment Survey Estimates and the Federal Government Shutdown |
| |
| This news release includes the final establishment survey estimates for both September and |
| October 2025, and the preliminary estimates for November. The collection periods for October|
| and November estimates were extended. |
| |
| October estimates include data that businesses self-reported electronically during the |
| shutdown and data collected after the resumption of government operations in November. The |
| collection rates for October and November are higher than usual as a result of the extended |
| collection periods. |
| |
| There was no change to the reference period for October or November; it remained the pay |
| period that includes the 12th of the month. There were no changes to seasonal adjustment |
| or estimation methodology. The September data are final estimates and incorporate routine |
| revisions. |
| |
| In the establishment survey, businesses and government agencies report the number of people |
| on payrolls during the pay period that includes the 12th of the month. Individuals who work |
| or receive pay for any part of the pay period are defined as employed. Federal employees on |
| furlough during the federal government shutdown were considered employed in the |
| establishment survey because they worked or received pay, even if later than usual, for the |
| pay period that included the 12th of the month. Other workers (including federal |
| contractors) who did not work or receive pay during the federal government shutdown were |
| not counted among the employed. |
| |
| It is not possible to precisely quantify the total impact of the federal government |
| shutdown on payroll employment estimates for October and November 2025. |
|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| 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., November 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 4.6
|
Alabama .............................| 2.7
California ..........................| 5.5
District of Columbia ................| 6.5
Georgia .............................| 3.5
Hawaii ..............................| 2.2
Idaho ...............................| 3.7
Indiana .............................| 3.7
Iowa ................................| 3.5
Kansas ..............................| 3.8
Maine ...............................| 3.2
|
Mississippi .........................| 3.8
Montana .............................| 3.3
Nebraska ............................| 3.0
New Hampshire .......................| 3.0
New Jersey ..........................| 5.4
North Carolina ......................| 3.8
North Dakota ........................| 2.6
Oklahoma ............................| 3.5
South Dakota ........................| 2.1
Tennessee ...........................| 3.6
|
Utah ................................| 3.6
Vermont .............................| 2.6
Virginia ............................| 3.5
Wisconsin ...........................| 3.1
Wyoming .............................| 3.4
--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Data are not preliminary.
(p) = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from November 2024 to November 2025, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | November | November | change(p)
| 2024 | 2025(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 3.3 | 2.7 | -0.6
Arizona ........................| 3.9 | 4.3 | .4
Arkansas .......................| 3.6 | 4.1 | .5
Colorado .......................| 4.6 | 3.9 | -.7
Connecticut ....................| 3.2 | 4.0 | .8
Delaware .......................| 3.6 | 4.9 | 1.3
District of Columbia ...........| 5.3 | 6.5 | 1.2
Florida ........................| 3.5 | 4.2 | .7
Hawaii .........................| 3.0 | 2.2 | -.8
Illinois .......................| 4.9 | 4.4 | -.5
| | |
Indiana ........................| 4.4 | 3.7 | -.7
Kentucky .......................| 5.4 | 4.7 | -.7
Louisiana ......................| 4.6 | 4.3 | -.3
Maryland .......................| 3.1 | 4.2 | 1.1
Massachusetts ..................| 4.1 | 4.7 | .6
Minnesota ......................| 3.0 | 4.0 | 1.0
Missouri .......................| 3.6 | 4.0 | .4
Montana ........................| 2.9 | 3.3 | .4
Nevada .........................| 5.8 | 5.2 | -.6
New Jersey .....................| 4.6 | 5.4 | .8
| | |
Oregon .........................| 4.3 | 5.2 | .9
Pennsylvania ...................| 3.7 | 4.2 | .5
South Dakota ...................| 1.9 | 2.1 | .2
Utah ...........................| 3.3 | 3.6 | .3
Virginia .......................| 2.9 | 3.5 | .6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant employment changes from
November 2024 to November 2025, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-year change(p)
State | November | November |---------------------------
| 2024 | 2025(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arkansas .....................| 1,375,100 | 1,392,800 | 17,700 | 1.3
District of Columbia .........| 772,000 | 739,200 | -32,800 | -4.2
Hawaii .......................| 643,200 | 653,600 | 10,400 | 1.6
Michigan .....................| 4,498,500 | 4,538,900 | 40,400 | .9
Minnesota ....................| 3,029,700 | 3,069,300 | 39,600 | 1.3
Missouri .....................| 2,994,600 | 3,054,300 | 59,700 | 2.0
New York .....................| 9,908,800 | 9,996,700 | 87,900 | .9
North Carolina ...............| 5,032,000 | 5,119,900 | 87,900 | 1.7
Ohio .........................| 5,654,100 | 5,705,300 | 51,200 | .9
Pennsylvania .................| 6,160,700 | 6,258,300 | 97,600 | 1.6
| | | |
South Carolina ...............| 2,376,400 | 2,424,800 | 48,400 | 2.0
Tennessee ....................| 3,382,700 | 3,417,500 | 34,800 | 1.0
Texas ........................| 14,174,700 | 14,321,000 | 146,300 | 1.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
United States Department of Labor
