Employment Situation in January: State-Level Analysis

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia in January compared to the previous month, while Wyoming and Rhode Island lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 504,000 in January, following a gain of 260,000 jobs in December.

On a month-over-month basis, employment data was strong in California, which added 96,700 jobs, followed by Texas (+48,600), and Florida (+30,000). Wyoming and Rhode Island lost a total of 1,100 jobs. In percentage terms, employment in Arizona increased by 0.7% while Rhode Island reported a 0.1% decline between December and January.

Year-over-year ending in January, 4.9 million jobs have been added, marking a more than full recovery of the labor market from the COVID-19 pandemic induced recession. All the states and District of Columbia added jobs compared to a year ago. The range of job gains spanned 654,100 jobs in Texas to 3,400 jobs added in West Virginia. In percentage terms, Nevada reported the highest increase by 6.0%, while West Virginia increased by 0.5% compared to a year ago.

Across the 48 states which reported construction sector jobs data—which includes both residential as well as non-residential construction— 40 states reported an increase in January compared to December, while seven lost construction sector jobs. Mississippi remained unchanged. Indiana added 6,700 construction jobs, while California lost 7,300 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 35,000 jobs in January compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Iowa increased by 4.7% while West Virginia reported a decline of 1.8% between December and January.

Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 304,000, which is a 4.0% increase compared to the January 2022 level. Texas added 34,800 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while West Virginia lost 1,600 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, Montana had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector by 12.7%. Over this period, West Virginia reported a decline of 4.8%.