📊 State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) Report – November 2025: Key Economic Insights

7 January 2026

The November 2025 State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, compared to a year earlier, unemployment rates rose in 16 states and the District of Columbia, fell in 8 states, and were little changed in 26 states, while nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the month.

Main Findings and Economic Details

1. Unemployment Rate Trends Across States 📈

  • National Unemployment Rate:
    • November 2025: 4.6% (seasonally adjusted)
    • This is 0.4 percentage points higher than in November 2024.
  • State-Level Changes (Year-over-Year):
    • Unemployment rates increased in 16 states and the District of Columbia.
    • Unemployment rates decreased in 8 states.
    • Unemployment rates were little changed in 26 states.
  • Notable State Rates:
    • Lowest Unemployment Rates:
      • South Dakota: 2.1%
      • Hawaii: 2.2%
    • Highest Unemployment Rate:
      • District of Columbia: 6.5%
      • California: 5.5%
      • Alabama: 2.7%
      • Georgia: 3.5%
  • Largest Year-over-Year Decrease:
    • Hawaii: -0.8 percentage points

2. Nonfarm Payroll Employment 🏢

  • Monthly Change (November 2025):
    • No significant change in nonfarm payroll employment in any state or the District of Columbia.
  • Year-over-Year Change:
    • Employment increased in 12 states.
    • Employment decreased in the District of Columbia.
    • Employment was essentially unchanged in 38 states.
  • States with Largest Job Gains:
    • Texas: +146,300 jobs
    • Pennsylvania: +97,600 jobs
    • New York: +87,900 jobs
    • North Carolina: +87,900 jobs
    • Missouri and South Carolina: +2.0% (largest percentage increases)
    • North Carolina: +1.7%
  • District of Columbia:
    • Employment decreased by -32,800 jobs (-4.2%)

3. Data Collection and Methodological Notes 📝

  • Federal Government Shutdown Impact:
    • There was a lapse in federal appropriations from October 1 to November 12, 2025.
    • No household survey data was collected for October 2025, so the report does not include over-the-month unemployment rate changes from October to November.
    • The November 2025 data was delayed and required adjusted statistical methods.
  • Data Sources:
    • Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS):
      • Based on household surveys, measures labor force and unemployment by residence.
    • Current Employment Statistics (CES):
      • Based on establishment surveys, measures nonfarm payroll employment by workplace location.
  • Statistical Significance:
    • Only changes determined to be statistically significant at the 90% confidence level are highlighted.
    • State data are not summed to national totals due to potential aggregation errors.

4. Technical Definitions 📚

  • Employed:
    • People who worked for pay or profit during the reference week or were temporarily absent from their jobs.
  • Unemployed:
    • People not employed during the reference week, actively looking for work in the past 4 weeks, and available for work.
  • Civilian Labor Force:
    • The sum of employed and unemployed people.
  • Unemployment Rate:
    • The number of unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force.

5. State-by-State Data Examples 🗺️

  • Alabama:
    • Civilian labor force (Nov 2025): 2,377,970
    • Unemployed (Nov 2025): 65,078
    • Unemployment rate (Nov 2025): 2.7%
  • California:
    • Civilian labor force (Nov 2025): 19,905,623
    • Unemployed (Nov 2025): 1,104,346
    • Unemployment rate (Nov 2025): 5.5%
  • Arizona:
    • Civilian labor force (Nov 2025): 3,843,691
    • Unemployed (Nov 2025): 165,279
    • Unemployment rate (Nov 2025): 4.3%

6. Limitations and Cautions ⚠️

  • No October 2025 Data:
    • The absence of October data means no month-to-month comparison for unemployment rates.
  • Sampling and Nonsampling Errors:
    • All estimates are subject to errors due to survey sampling and data processing.
  • Aggregation Warning:
    • State data should not be summed to create a national total due to error compounding.

💡 Summary:

The November 2025 State Employment and Unemployment report shows a modest increase in the national unemployment rate to 4.6%, with 16 states and the District of Columbia experiencing higher unemployment rates than a year earlier, 8 states seeing decreases, and 26 states remaining stable. Nonfarm payroll employment was flat across all states for the month, but over the year, 12 states saw job growth, led by Texas and Pennsylvania, while the District of Columbia experienced a notable decline. The report was affected by a federal government shutdown, resulting in missing October data and some methodological adjustments. These findings provide a snapshot of labor market conditions across the U.S., highlighting regional differences and the impact of federal operations on economic data collection.

References:

  1. State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly), US Bureau of Labor Statistics

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