April Employment Situation by State

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 38 states and the District of Columbia in April compared to the previous month, while 11 states saw a decrease. Alaska reported no change during this time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 175,000 in April, following a gain of 315,000 jobs in March.

On a month-over-month basis, employment data was most favorable in Florida, which added 45,300 jobs, followed by Texas (+42,600), and then Missouri (+16,700). A total of 22,900 jobs were lost across the 11 states, with New Jersey reporting the steepest job losses at 10,900. In percentage terms, employment increased the highest in Missouri at 0.6%, while South Dakota saw the biggest decline at 0.6% between March and April.

Year-over-year ending in April, 2.8 million jobs have been added to the labor market across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The range of job gains spanned from 1,800 jobs in the District of Columbia to 306,000 jobs in Texas. In percentage terms, the range of job growth spanned 3.4% in Nevada and South Carolina to 0.2% in Maryland.

Across the nation, construction sector jobs data¹ —which includes both residential and non-residential construction—showed that 28 states reported an increase in April compared to March, while 19 states and the District of Columbia lost construction sector jobs. The three remaining states, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and South Carolina reported no change on a month-over-month basis. Michigan, with the highest increase, added 4,200 construction jobs, while Ohio, on the other end of the spectrum, lost 7,600 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 9,000 jobs in April compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Michigan reported the highest increase at 2.1% and Iowa reported the largest decline at 3.5%.

Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 258,000, which is a 3.2% increase compared to the April 2023 level. Texas added 30,500 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while New York lost 7,100 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, Alaska had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector at 18.0%. Over this period, Maryland reported the largest decline of 4.0%.

1. For this analysis, BLS combined employment totals for mining, logging, and construction are treated as construction employment for the District of Columbia, Delaware, and Hawaii.