Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 34 states and the District of Columbia in March compared to the previous month while 16 states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 431,000 in March, following a gain of 750,000 jobs in February.
On a month-over-month basis, employment data was strong in California, which added 60,200 jobs, followed by Texas (+30,100) and New York (+28,100). Sixteen states lost a total of 22,000 jobs. In percentage terms, South Dakota employment increased by 0.6% while Wyoming reported a 0.4% decline between February and March.
Year-over-year ending in March, 6.5 million jobs have been recovered, marking the economic rebound 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 1.0 million jobs in California to 5,000 jobs added in Alaska. In percentage terms, Nevada reported the highest increase by 9.1%, while Kansas increased by 1.5% 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— 34 states reported an increase in March compared to February, while 13 lost construction sector jobs. Idaho reported no change. California added 8,900 construction jobs while New York lost 3,700 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added 19,000 jobs in March compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, South Dakota increased by 7.2% while Mississippi reported a decline of 3.3% between February and March.
Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 220,000, which is a 3.0% increase compared to the March 2021 level. Texas added 31,800 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while Pennsylvania, lost 2,200 jobs. In percentage terms, Wyoming had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector by 11.1%. Over this period, Kentucky reported a decline of 1.1%.
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