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\nFor release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Friday, August 21, 2026 USDL-26-1412\r\n\r\nTechnical information: \r\n Employment: (202) 691-6559 * sminfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/sae \r\n Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 * lausinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/lau \r\n\r\nMedia contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov\r\n\r\n\r\n STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT - JULY 2026\r\n\r\n\r\nUnemployment rates were lower in July in 10 states and stable in 40 states and the District of \r\nColumbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twelve states had jobless rate \r\nincreases from a year earlier, 10 states and the District had decreases, and 28 states had little \r\nchange. The national unemployment rate, 4.1 percent, changed little both over the month and over \r\nthe year.\r\n\r\nIn July, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 1 state, decreased in 1 state, and was essentially \r\nunchanged in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment \r\nincreased in 6 states, decreased in 1 state and the District, and was essentially unchanged in 43 \r\nstates.\r\n\r\nThis news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and\r\nunemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of households. These data pertain to\r\npeople by where they reside. The employment data are from an establishment survey that\r\nmeasures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on\r\npayrolls defined by where the establishments are located. For more information about the\r\nconcepts and statistical methodologies used by these two programs, see the Technical Note.\r\n\r\nUnemployment\r\n\r\nSouth Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in July, 2.0 percent. The District of Columbia had the \r\nhighest unemployment rate, 5.9 percent. In total, 16 states had unemployment rates lower than the \r\nU.S. figure of 4.1 percent, 9 states and the District had higher rates, and 25 states had rates \r\nthat were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)\r\n\r\nIn July, 10 states had unemployment rate decreases: Illinois, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode \r\nIsland, South Carolina, and Washington (-0.2 percentage point each) and Delaware, Florida, and \r\nNorth Dakota (-0.1 point each). Forty states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that \r\nwere not notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at \r\nleast as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)\r\n\r\nTwelve states had unemployment rate increases from July 2025, the largest of which were in \r\nConnecticut (+1.3 percentage points) and Oklahoma (+1.0 point). Ten states and the District of \r\nColumbia had over-the-year rate decreases, the largest of which were in New Jersey and Ohio\r\n(-1.1 percentage points each). Twenty-eight states had jobless rates that were not notably \r\ndifferent from those of a year earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large \r\nnumerically as the significant changes. (See table C.)\r\n\r\nNonfarm Payroll Employment\r\n\r\nIn July 2026, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 1 state, decreased in 1 state, and was\r\nessentially unchanged in 48 states and the District of Columbia. The only job gain occurred in \r\nMaryland (+11,700, or +0.4 percent). Employment decreased in New Jersey (-25,600, or\r\n-0.6 percent). (See tables D and 3.)\r\n\r\nOver the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 6 states, decreased in 1 state and the \r\nDistrict of Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 43 states. The largest job gains occurred \r\nin Texas (+165,600), California (+112,700), and North Carolina (+51,600). The largest percentage \r\nincrease occurred in Minnesota (+1.4 percent), followed by Louisiana and South Carolina (+1.3 \r\npercent each). The job losses occurred in Virginia (-47,900, or -1.1 percent) and the District \r\n(-31,500, or -4.2 percent). (See table E.)\r\n\r\n_____________\r\nThe Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for July 2026 is scheduled to be \r\npublished on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and \r\nUnemployment news release for August 2026 is scheduled to be published on Friday, September 18, \r\n2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). \r\n\r\n\r\n _____________________________________________________________________________________________\r\n| |\r\n| 2026 Preliminary Benchmark Revision to Establishment Survey Data |\r\n| to be Published on August 28, 2026 |\r\n| |\r\n| Each year, Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates are benchmarked to comprehensive |\r\n| counts of employment from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). These counts |\r\n| are derived from state unemployment insurance (UI) tax records that nearly all employers |\r\n| are required to file. As part of the benchmark process for benchmark year 2026, |\r\n| census-derived employment counts replace CES payroll employment estimates for all 50 |\r\n| states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and about 430 |\r\n| metropolitan areas and divisions for the period from April 2025 to September 2026. |\r\n| |\r\n| The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release first-quarter 2026 data from the QCEW on |\r\n| August 28, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). At the same time, BLS will publish preliminary |\r\n| benchmark revisions for March 2026 for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select |\r\n| metropolitan areas at the total nonfarm level. The final benchmark revisions for all state |\r\n| and metropolitan area series will be issued with the publication of the January 2027 State |\r\n| Employment and Unemployment news release in March 2027. |\r\n|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\nTable A. States with unemployment rates significantly different\r\nfrom that of the U.S., July 2026, seasonally adjusted\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------\r\n State | Rate(p)\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------\r\nUnited States (1) ...................| 4.1\r\n |\r\nAlabama .............................| 3.4\r\nArizona .............................| 4.9\r\nCalifornia ..........................| 5.1\r\nConnecticut .........................| 5.2\r\nDistrict of Columbia ................| 5.9\r\nFlorida .............................| 4.6\r\nGeorgia .............................| 3.3\r\nHawaii ..............................| 2.7\r\nIllinois ............................| 4.9\r\nIndiana .............................| 3.3\r\n |\r\nIowa ................................| 3.2\r\nMaine ...............................| 3.1\r\nMichigan ............................| 4.9\r\nMontana .............................| 3.2\r\nNebraska ............................| 2.9\r\nNevada ..............................| 5.0\r\nNew Hampshire .......................| 2.8\r\nNorth Dakota ........................| 2.2\r\nOhio ................................| 3.4\r\nOregon ..............................| 5.2\r\n |\r\nSouth Dakota ........................| 2.0\r\nTennessee ...........................| 3.4\r\nVermont .............................| 2.6\r\nWashington ..........................| 5.0\r\nWisconsin ...........................| 3.3\r\nWyoming .............................| 3.0\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------\r\n (1) Data are not preliminary.\r\n (p) = preliminary.\r\n\r\n\r\nTable B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes\r\nfrom June 2026 to July 2026, seasonally adjusted\r\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n | Rate |\r\n |-----------|-----------| Over-the-month\r\n State | June | July | change(p)\r\n | 2026 | 2026(p) |\r\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nDelaware .......................| 4.9 | 4.8 | -0.1\r\nFlorida ........................| 4.7 | 4.6 | -.1\r\nIllinois .......................| 5.1 | 4.9 | -.2\r\nNew York .......................| 4.6 | 4.4 | -.2\r\nNorth Dakota ...................| 2.3 | 2.2 | -.1\r\nOhio ...........................| 3.6 | 3.4 | -.2\r\nPennsylvania ...................| 4.1 | 3.9 | -.2\r\nRhode Island ...................| 4.1 | 3.9 | -.2\r\nSouth Carolina .................| 4.4 | 4.2 | -.2\r\nWashington .....................| 5.2 | 5.0 | -.2\r\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n (p) = preliminary.\r\n\r\n\r\nTable C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes\r\nfrom July 2025 to July 2026, seasonally adjusted\r\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n | Rate |\r\n |-----------|-----------| Over-the-year\r\n State | July | July | change(p)\r\n | 2025 | 2026(p) |\r\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nAlabama ........................| 2.8 | 3.4 | 0.6\r\nArizona ........................| 4.3 | 4.9 | .6\r\nCalifornia .....................| 5.5 | 5.1 | -.4\r\nConnecticut ....................| 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.3\r\nDistrict of Columbia ...........| 6.3 | 5.9 | -.4\r\nFlorida ........................| 3.9 | 4.6 | .7\r\nHawaii .........................| 2.2 | 2.7 | .5\r\nIllinois .......................| 4.3 | 4.9 | .6\r\nIndiana ........................| 3.7 | 3.3 | -.4\r\nIowa ...........................| 3.5 | 3.2 | -.3\r\n | | |\r\nMinnesota ......................| 3.8 | 4.3 | .5\r\nMissouri .......................| 4.0 | 3.6 | -.4\r\nNew Hampshire ..................| 3.1 | 2.8 | -.3\r\nNew Jersey .....................| 5.5 | 4.4 | -1.1\r\nNew Mexico .....................| 4.0 | 4.8 | .8\r\nNorth Carolina .................| 3.9 | 3.6 | -.3\r\nNorth Dakota ...................| 2.6 | 2.2 | -.4\r\nOhio ...........................| 4.5 | 3.4 | -1.1\r\nOklahoma .......................| 3.3 | 4.3 | 1.0\r\nPennsylvania ...................| 4.4 | 3.9 | -.5\r\n | | |\r\nTexas ..........................| 4.2 | 4.5 | .3\r\nVirginia .......................| 3.3 | 3.7 | .4\r\nWashington .....................| 4.6 | 5.0 | .4\r\n-------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n (p) = preliminary.\r\n\r\n\r\nTable D. States with statistically significant employment changes from\r\nJune 2026 to July 2026, seasonally adjusted\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n | | | Over-the-month change(p)\r\n State | June | July |---------------------------\r\n | 2026 | 2026(p) | Level | Percent\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nMaryland .....................| 2,804,200 | 2,815,900 | 11,700 | 0.4\r\nNew Jersey ...................| 4,383,200 | 4,357,600 | -25,600 | -.6\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n (p) = preliminary.\r\n\r\n\r\nTable E. States with statistically significant employment changes from\r\nJuly 2025 to July 2026, seasonally adjusted\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n | | | Over-the-year change(p)\r\n State | July | July |---------------------------\r\n | 2025 | 2026(p) | Level | Percent\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\nCalifornia ...................| 18,020,300 | 18,133,000 | 112,700 | 0.6\r\nDistrict of Columbia .........| 753,900 | 722,400 | -31,500 | -4.2\r\nLouisiana ....................| 1,989,100 | 2,015,900 | 26,800 | 1.3\r\nMinnesota ....................| 3,021,700 | 3,063,600 | 41,900 | 1.4\r\nNorth Carolina ...............| 5,060,400 | 5,112,000 | 51,600 | 1.0\r\nSouth Carolina ...............| 2,382,400 | 2,414,500 | 32,100 | 1.3\r\nTexas ........................| 14,302,400 | 14,468,000 | 165,600 | 1.2\r\nVirginia .....................| 4,280,100 | 4,232,200 | -47,900 | -1.1\r\n--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------\r\n (p) = preliminary.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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