Employment Situation in July: State-Level Analysis

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia in July compared to the previous month while four states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 528,000 in July, following a gain of 398,000 jobs in June.  As of July 2022, the U.S. labor market is back to pre-pandemic levels.

On a month-over-month basis, employment data was strong in California, which added 84,800 jobs, followed by Florida (+73,800), and Texas (+72,800). North Dakota, Montana, Kentucky, and Tennessee lost a total of 25,100 jobs.  In percentage terms, employment in Hawaii increased by 1.3% while Kentucky reported a 0.6% decline between June and July.

Year-over-year ending in July, 6.1 million jobs have been recovered, marking a 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 740,000 jobs in California to 4,200 jobs added in Alaska. In percentage terms, Texas reported the highest increase by 5.8%, while Kansas increased by 1.0% 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— 31 states reported an increase in July compared to June, while 15 lost construction sector jobs. Idaho and Rhode Island reported no change. California added 11,400 construction jobs while New York lost 2,000 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 32,000 jobs in July compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, North Dakota increased by 3.7% while Louisiana reported a decline of 1.1% between June and July.

Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 311,000, which is a 4.2% increase compared to the July 2021 level. Texas added 49,200 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while New Jersey lost 2,600 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, New Mexico had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector by 13.5%. Over this period, New Jersey reported a decline of 1.6%.