Over the year, total nonfarm employment in July increased by 2.4 million jobs which is a 1.6% increase compared to July 2017. During this time, total nonfarm employment in the Western region increased by 2.3% and the Southern region increased by 2.0%. The Midwest recorded the lowest gains at 1.3% during this time. In comparison, year-over-year ending in June, 2.37 million total nonfarm jobs were added to the economy, which is also 1.6% ahead of it level in June 2017.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 42 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in eight states in July 2018 compared to June 2018. Nationwide, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 170,000 over the month of July, a slightly lower than the increase of 213,000 jobs in June.

Year-over-year, 48 states and the District of Columbia increased in employment while two states, Alaska and Vermont, lost payroll employment during the month of July. The same number of states increased and decreased (Alaska and North Dakota) in employment over the year ending in June.

Year-over-year, ending in July, 25 states recorded annualized growth equal to and/or above 1.6% in employment, which was the national growth rate. Eighteen states out of the 25 which recorded growth above the national growth rate were in the Western and the Southern (including South Atlantic) regions of the country. Utah recorded the highest growth rate at 3.5%, adding 51,100 workers during this time. Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia recorded annualized growth between 0.6%-1.5% while Alaska and Vermont recorded declines in employment.

In the construction sector specifically, which includes both residential and non-residential construction, across the 44 states which reported construction sector jobs data, 26 states had an increase in July, 15 states reported a decline, and three states remained unchanged compared to June. Between June and July 2018, New Hampshire had the largest increase in construction job growth with 2.1% while the largest decline was in Mississippi where total construction employment fell by 3.1%. Construction sector posted a net gain of 19,000 jobs which is 0.3 percentage points higher than in June.

Year-over-year, the U.S added 308,000 construction sector jobs which is a 4.4% increase compared to July 2017. Nevada had the highest annual growth in construction sector by 10.9%. Georgia (10.0%) and Arizona (10.0%) round out the top three. Over this period, New Jersey reported the largest decline at 3.9%, followed by South Carolina (2.3%) and Kentucky (1.0%).

Tags: state and local markets, state employment