The labor market data from February indicate a substantial decrease in employment, with job losses concentrated in the majority of states and only modest gains in other regions.
February’s decline is indicative of the emergence of soft recruiting conditions and the uneven performance across the country, despite the fact that January demonstrated strong momentum.
In February, 14 states experienced an increase in nonfarm payroll employment in comparison to January, while 36 states experienced a decline.
No changes were reported by the District of Columbia. February saw a 133,000 decrease in total U.S. nonfarm payroll employment, which followed a substantial 160,000 job increase in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Arizona led the way in employment gains on a month-over-month basis, with a total of +11,000, followed by Indiana (+3,600).
Louisiana and New Mexico were equal for third place with 2,700 job gains each. Conversely, 36 states experienced a total of 217,200 employment losses, with New York experiencing the most significant decline (-22,000).
Nebraska experienced the largest decrease (-0.6 percent) between January and February, while Wyoming recorded the sharpest increase (+0.4 percent) in percentage terms.
Total nonfarm employment nationwide increased by 149,000 jobs in February, a 0.1 percent increase from February 2025, on a year-over-year basis.
The number of job gains varied from 500 in New Mexico to 120,500 in California. The District of Columbia, twenty-seven states, and Maryland collectively lost 342,400 jobs in the past year, with Maryland experiencing the most significant decline (-52,700).
Job growth varied from 0.1 percent in North Dakota, New York, Ohio, Kansas, Connecticut, New Mexico, and Missouri to 2.2 percent in Nevada, expressed in percentage terms.
Delaware, Mississippi, Louisiana, New Jersey, Georgia, and Kentucky experienced declines ranging from 0.1 percent to 1.9 percent, while Maryland experienced a decline of 1.9 percent.
The District of Columbia, on the other hand, experienced a substantially larger decline of 5.5 percent.
Construction Employment
In February, there were job losses in construction employment 1, which encompasses both residential and non-residential construction.
Twenty-two states have reported an increase in construction employment since January, while 27 states and the District of Columbia have experienced a decrease.
South Dakota has not reported any changes. The greatest monthly gain was recorded in Florida, with 1,100 jobs added, while the largest loss was in New Jersey, with -5,900 jobs lost.
In February, the construction sector experienced a net loss of 13,000 employment across the country.
Montana experienced the most significant monthly increase (+1.3 percent), while Delaware experienced the most severe decline (-4.4 percent) in percentage terms.
Year-over-year, construction employment increased by 37,000 jobs nationwide, representing a 0.4 percent increase from February 2025.
California experienced the most significant decline (-10,300), while Texas experienced the greatest increase among all states, with 24,000 construction jobs added.
In terms of percentage growth, Montana experienced the most significant annual increase in construction employment (+8.8 percent), while Alaska experienced the most significant decline (-5.6 percent).
Unemployment Rate by State
The state unemployment rate is a critical economic indicator that gauges the health of local labor markets by determining the proportion of the workforce that is actively pursuing employment but is unable to secure it.
While low unemployment indicates a constrained labor market that may contribute to increasing wage pressures, high unemployment indicates a state economy that is weakening.
The District of Columbia had the greatest unemployment rate at 6.5 percent, while Hawaii and South Dakota had the lowest rates at 2.3 percent.
In 2025, the District was disproportionately affected by the federal workforce reductions and redundancies, which exceeded 300,000 positions.
This elevated rate is indicative of the impact of these cuts. Unemployment rates of less than 3.0 percent were reported in Vermont, North Dakota, and Alabama.
Unemployment rates of 5.0 percent or higher were observed in South Carolina, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, New Jersey, Oregon, Nevada, California, and Delaware.
The District of Columbia, Delaware, and Hawaii are analyzed as construction employment, with the BLS combined employment totals for mining, logging, and construction being considered as such.
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