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Midwest Economy - Labor Force Statistics

 
Civilian labor force in the Midwest, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Area

(Links provide news releases)		 Back
data		 Sep
2025		 Jul
2026		 Aug
2026		 Sep
2026		 Sep 2025 to
Sep 2026
Net
change		 Percent
change

United States

 171,261 169,094 169,777 170,262 -999 -0.6

Midwest

 35,808.8 35,465.3 35,406.7 35,378.2 -430.5 -1.2

Illinois

 6,555.1 6,499.6 6,476.9 (p)6,468.2 (p)-86.9 (p)-1.3

Indiana

 3,509.5 3,489.6 3,488.0 (p)3,490.6 (p)-18.9 (p)-0.5

Iowa

 1,739.2 1,726.9 1,724.3 (p)1,721.2 (p)-18.0 (p)-1.0

Kansas

 1,579.1 1,555.9 1,553.2 (p)1,549.9 (p)-29.2 (p)-1.8

Michigan

 5,004.1 4,878.0 4,852.2 (p)4,826.4 (p)-177.7 (p)-3.6

Minnesota

 3,180.4 3,127.0 3,124.5 (p)3,125.3 (p)-55.1 (p)-1.7

Missouri

 3,169.1 3,167.2 3,170.0 (p)3,173.9 (p)4.8 (p)0.2

Nebraska

 1,103.2 1,096.7 1,096.0 (p)1,095.4 (p)-7.8 (p)-0.7

North Dakota

 432.6 431.4 430.5 (p)430.3 (p)-2.3 (p)-0.5

Ohio

 5,935.2 5,867.2 5,857.7 (p)5,853.7 (p)-81.5 (p)-1.4

South Dakota

 493.7 487.1 485.9 (p)484.7 (p)-9.0 (p)-1.8

Wisconsin

 3,107.3 3,139.5 3,148.3 (p)3,158.5 (p)51.2 (p)1.6

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics
The State and regional data above are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, a Federal-State cooperative program in which total employment and unemployment are measured for approximately 7,200 areas.
 
Unemployed in the Midwest, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Area

(Links provide news releases)		 Back
data		 Sep
2025		 Jul
2026		 Aug
2026		 Sep
2026		 Sep 2025 to
Sep 2026
Net
change		 Percent
change

United States

 7,605 6,916 7,031 7,109 -496 -6.5

Midwest

 1,448.1 1,386.7 1,373.0 1,375.7 -72.4 -5.0

Illinois

 292.5 315.7 306.8 (p)297.7 (p)5.2 (p)1.8

Indiana

 128.2 114.0 114.5 (p)118.0 (p)-10.1 (p)-7.9

Iowa

 59.6 54.7 54.7 (p)55.7 (p)-4.0 (p)-6.7

Kansas

 59.5 58.7 58.9 (p)59.6 (p)0.1 (p)0.2

Michigan

 245.7 240.9 240.5 (p)241.0 (p)-4.7 (p)-1.9

Minnesota

 129.7 135.7 137.0 (p)141.1 (p)11.4 (p)8.8

Missouri

 124.7 113.5 112.4 (p)113.6 (p)-11.1 (p)-8.9

Nebraska

 32.5 31.8 31.6 (p)31.3 (p)-1.2 (p)-3.8

North Dakota

 11.2 9.6 9.5 (p)9.5 (p)-1.7 (p)-15.0

Ohio

 258.0 199.6 195.3 (p)196.3 (p)-61.6 (p)-23.9

South Dakota

 10.4 9.7 9.6 (p)9.6 (p)-0.9 (p)-8.4

Wisconsin

 96.5 102.7 102.1 (p)102.2 (p)5.7 (p)5.9

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics
The State and regional data above are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, a Federal-State cooperative program in which total employment and unemployment are measured for approximately 7,200 areas.
 
Unemployment rates in the Midwest, seasonally adjusted (in percent)
Area

(Links provide news releases)		 Back
data		 Sep
2025		 Jul
2026		 Aug
2026		 Sep
2026		 Net change
Sep 2025 to
Sep 2026

United States

 4.4 4.1 4.1 4.2 -0.2

Midwest

 4.0 3.9 3.9 3.9 -0.1

Illinois

 4.5 4.9 4.7 (p)4.6 (p)0.1

Indiana

 3.7 3.3 3.3 (p)3.4 (p)-0.3

Iowa

 3.4 3.2 3.2 (p)3.2 (p)-0.2

Kansas

 3.8 3.8 3.8 (p)3.8 (p)0.0

Michigan

 4.9 4.9 5.0 (p)5.0 (p)0.1

Minnesota

 4.1 4.3 4.4 (p)4.5 (p)0.4

Missouri

 3.9 3.6 3.5 (p)3.6 (p)-0.3

Nebraska

 2.9 2.9 2.9 (p)2.9 (p)0.0

North Dakota

 2.6 2.2 2.2 (p)2.2 (p)-0.4

Ohio

 4.3 3.4 3.3 (p)3.4 (p)-0.9

South Dakota

 2.1 2.0 2.0 (p)2.0 (p)-0.1

Wisconsin

 3.1 3.3 3.2 (p)3.2 (p)0.1

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics
The State and regional data above are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, a Federal-State cooperative program in which total employment and unemployment are measured for approximately 7,200 areas.
 
Unemployment rates in Midwest states by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), not seasonally adjusted (in percent)
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

(news release)
 Back
data		 Sep
2025		 Jul
2026		 Aug
2026		 Sep
2026		 Net change
Sep 2025 to
Sep 2026

Illinois

Bloomington

 3.9 3.3 (p)3.4    

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

 3.2 4.0 (p)3.6    

Champaign-Urbana

 4.2 3.6 (p)3.8    

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

 4.2 4.9 (p)5.2    

Chicago-Naperville-Schaumburg, IL(1)

 4.1 5.2 5.6 (p)4.5 (p)0.4

Elgin

 4.3 3.7 (p)3.8    

Lake County, IL(1)

 4.4 3.6 (p)3.8    

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL

 5.0 3.9 (p)4.2    

Decatur

 5.8 4.9 (p)5.1    

Kankakee

 5.4 4.1 (p)4.3    

Peoria

 4.7 3.8 (p)4.0    

Rockford

 5.3 4.4 (p)4.5    

St Louis, MO-IL

 3.7 3.8 (p)3.9    

Springfield

 4.4 3.6 (p)3.7    

Indiana

Bloomington

 3.3 3.7 (p)3.8    

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

 4.2 4.9 (p)5.2    

Lake County-Porter County-Jasper County(1)

 4.3 4.4 (p)4.4    

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

 4.0 3.7 (p)3.6    

Columbus

 3.4 3.5 (p)3.5    

Elkhart-Goshen

 3.6 4.1 (p)3.8    

Evansville, IN

 3.5 3.4 (p)3.4    

Fort Wayne

 3.3 3.3 (p)3.3    

Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood

 3.4 3.3 (p)3.3    

Kokomo

 5.7 4.9 (p)4.6    

Lafayette-West Lafayette

 3.3 3.6 (p)3.5    

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

 4.0 4.8 (p)4.1    

Michigan City-LaPorte

 3.8 3.8 (p)3.8    

Muncie

 4.0 4.2 (p)4.2    

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI

 3.9 4.2 (p)4.2    

Terre Haute

 3.7 3.7 (p)3.7    

Iowa

Ames

 2.6 3.4 (p)3.0    

Cedar Rapids

 3.4 3.7 (p)3.9    

Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL

 5.0 3.9 (p)4.2    

Des Moines-West Des Moines

 3.2 3.4 (p)3.7    

Dubuque

 3.0 3.3 (p)3.5    

Iowa City

 2.4 3.1 (p)2.9    

Omaha, NE-IA

 3.0 3.1 (p)3.0    

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

 2.9 3.5 (p)3.4    

Waterloo-Cedar Falls

 3.6 3.8 (p)3.9    

Kansas

Kansas City, MO-KS

 3.5 3.8 (p)3.9    

Lawrence

 3.3 4.2 (p)4.3    

Manhattan

 3.5 4.5 (p)4.8    

Topeka

 3.6 4.1 (p)4.5    

St. Joseph, MO-KS

 3.5 4.3 (p)4.0    

Wichita

 3.9 4.5 (p)4.6    

Michigan

Ann Arbor

 3.8 4.2 (p)4.2    

Battle Creek

 5.0 5.8 (p)5.3    

Bay City

 5.0 5.4 (p)5.4    

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

 4.9 6.0 5.7 (p)5.6 (p)0.7

Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia(1)

 5.9 7.3 (p)6.9    

Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills(1)

 4.2 5.2 (p)5.0    

Flint

 5.6 5.8 (p)5.8    

Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood

 3.9 4.3 (p)4.2    

Jackson

 4.6 5.2 (p)5.0    

Kalamazoo-Portage

 4.2 4.6 (p)4.5    

Lansing-East Lansing

 4.1 4.8 (p)4.6    

Midland

 4.2 4.7 (p)4.8    

Monroe

 4.6 5.1 (p)5.0    

Muskegon-Norton Shores

 5.3 5.2 (p)5.3    

Niles

 4.5 4.9 (p)4.8    

Saginaw

 5.5 5.9 (p)5.8    

South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI

 3.9 4.2 (p)4.2    

Traverse City

 3.6 3.8 (p)3.7    

Minnesota

Duluth, MN-WI

 3.9 5.0 (p)5.2    

Fargo, ND-MN

 2.3 2.6 (p)2.6    

Grand Forks, ND-MN

 2.3 2.8 (p)2.8    

La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN

 2.5 3.1 (p)3.0    

Mankato

 2.9 3.8 (p)4.0    

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

 3.6 4.5 (p)4.7    

Rochester

 2.9 3.7 (p)3.9    

St. Cloud

 3.2 4.8 (p)4.9    

Missouri

Cape Girardeau, MO-IL

 3.2 4.0 (p)3.6    

Columbia

 2.9 3.9 (p)3.7    

Jefferson City

 2.8 3.4 (p)3.3    

Joplin, MO-KS

 3.4 3.9 (p)3.8    

Kansas City, MO-KS

 3.5 3.8 (p)3.9    

Springfield

 3.3 3.7 (p)3.6    

St. Joseph

 3.5 4.3 (p)4.0    

St. Louis, MO-IL

 3.7 3.8 (p)3.9    

Nebraska

Grand Island

 2.7 2.7 (p)2.6    

Lincoln

 2.7 2.6 (p)2.6    

Omaha, NE-IA

 3.0 3.1 (p)3.0    

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

 2.9 3.5 (p)3.4    

North Dakota

Bismarck

 2.0 1.9 (p)2.0    

Fargo, ND-MN

 2.3 2.6 (p)2.6    

Grand Forks, ND-MN

 2.3 2.8 (p)2.8    

Minot

 2.2 2.0 (p)2.1    

Ohio

Akron

 4.3 3.6 (p)3.7    

Canton-Massillon

 4.2 3.6 (p)3.7    

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

 4.0 3.7 (p)3.6    

Cleveland

 3.3 3.1 1.8 (p)1.9 (p)-1.4

Columbus

 3.9 3.2 (p)3.3    

Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek

 4.3 3.5 (p)3.7    

Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH

 4.5 4.8 (p)4.4    

Lima

 4.5 3.6 (p)3.7    

Mansfield

 4.6 3.8 (p)3.9    

Sandusky

 4.2 3.4 (p)3.5    

Springfield

 5.2 3.9 (p)3.8    

Toledo

 4.8 4.0 (p)4.3    

Wheeling, WV-OH

 4.3 4.0 (p)4.2    

Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH

 5.0 4.5 (p)4.4    

Youngstown-Warren, OH

 4.8 4.8 (p)5.0    

South Dakota

Rapid City

 1.9 1.9 (p)2.1    

Sioux City, IA-NE-SD

 2.9 3.5 (p)3.4    

Sioux Falls, SD-MN

 1.8 1.9 (p)2.2    

Wisconsin

Appleton

 2.4 3.1 (p)3.0    

Duluth, MN-WI

 3.9 5.0 (p)5.2    

Eau Claire

 2.5 3.2 (p)3.1    

Fond du Lac

 2.5 3.2 (p)3.2    

Green Bay

 2.5 3.1 (p)3.1    

Janesville-Beloit

 2.9 3.7 (p)3.7    

La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN

 2.5 3.1 (p)3.0    

Madison

 2.3 2.9 (p)2.9    

Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

 3.1 3.8 (p)3.8    

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

 3.6 4.5 (p)4.7    

Oshkosh-Neenah

 2.6 3.3 (p)3.3    

Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI

 3.1 4.1 (p)4.1    

Sheboygan

 2.5 3.0 (p)2.9    

Wausau

 2.4 3.1 (p)3.0    

Footnotes
(1) Metropolitan Division
(p) Preliminary

Source: Local Area Unemployment Statistics
The State and regional data above are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, a Federal-State cooperative program in which total employment and unemployment are measured for approximately 7,200 areas.
 
Nonfarm wage and salary employment in Midwest States, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Area

(news release)		 Back
data		 Sep
2025		 Jul
2026		 Aug
2026		 Sep
2026		 Sep 2025 to
Sep 2026
Net
change		 Percent
change

United States

 158,548 158,882 (p)159,015 (p)159,044 (p)496 (p)0.3

Illinois

 6,150.7 6,180.0 6,171.7 (p)6,164.5 (p)13.8 (p)0.2

Indiana

 3,270.2 3,256.2 3,267.6 (p)3,257.3 (p)-12.9 (p)-0.4

Iowa

 1,583.4 1,583.4 1,585.6 (p)1,587.4 (p)4.0 (p)0.3

Kansas

 1,465.3 1,470.4 1,471.5 (p)1,469.4 (p)4.1 (p)0.3

Michigan

 4,485.4 4,498.3 4,493.7 (p)4,487.4 (p)2.0 (p)0.0

Minnesota

 3,028.2 3,067.1 3,069.6 (p)3,065.0 (p)36.8 (p)1.2

Missouri

 2,978.9 3,013.6 3,017.9 (p)3,007.3 (p)28.4 (p)1.0

Nebraska

 1,059.2 1,060.5 1,062.9 (p)1,063.3 (p)4.1 (p)0.4

North Dakota

 446.4 447.5 448.7 (p)447.3 (p)0.9 (p)0.2

Ohio

 5,669.6 5,686.6 5,693.3 (p)5,688.3 (p)18.7 (p)0.3

South Dakota

 468.7 471.3 471.0 (p)470.5 (p)1.8 (p)0.4

Wisconsin

 3,030.3 3,045.5 3,057.0 (p)3,043.3 (p)13.0 (p)0.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

Source: Current Employment Statistics - National - State and Metropolitan Area
The Current Employment Statistics (CES) Survey is a monthly survey of business establishments which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data by industry for the nation as a whole, all States, and most major metropolitan areas since 1939. The CES survey is a Federal-State cooperative program in which State employment security agencies prepare the data using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.