Employment Situation in November: State-Level Analysis

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia in November compared to the previous month, while seven states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 263,000 in November, following a gain of 284,000  jobs in October.

On a month-over-month basis, employment data was strong in Texas, which added 33,600 jobs, followed by Florida (+28,100), and California (+26,800). Seven states lost a total of 9,000 jobs.  In percentage terms, employment in West Virginia increased by 1.0% while Arkansas reported a 0.2% decline between October and November.

Year-over-year ending in November, 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 675,000 jobs in California to 1,400 jobs added in Mississippi. In percentage terms, Texas reported the highest increase by 5.1%, while Mississippi was essentially unchanged (0.1%) 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— 36 states reported an increase in November compared to October, while eight lost construction sector jobs. Four states, Arkansas, Arizona, Maine, and Tennessee reported no change. Florida added 5,400 construction jobs, while Texas lost 3,900 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 20,000 jobs in November compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Rhode Island increased by 3.6% while Colorado reported a decline of 1.8% between October and November.

Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 248,000, which is a 3.3% increase compared to the November 2021 level. California added 37,200 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while South Carolina lost 4,700 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, North Dakota had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector by 15.6%. Over this period, South Carolina reported a decline of 4.5%.