‍Editor's Note: This report is based on survey data from February 2025 that was published in March 2025. This is the most recent data available. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

‍

For two straight months now, US employers have added about 150 thousand new jobs according to initial reports, which is down slightly from the approximate 170 thousand new jobs added monthly over the past year, but not too far off track.

‍

Despite those new payroll entries - only 3 states experienced net growth in total in-state jobs over the month, while the remaining 47 and Washington DC saw no significant change in payroll size.

‍

The national unemployment rate ticked up one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.1%, but Florida was the only state that individually recorded a significant change in unemployment, climbing from 4.5% to 4.6% over the month. 

‍

Below is the breakdown of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) market employment summary from the March 2025 report.

‍

States With the Highest Unemployment Rates

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate for the 4th month in a row, holding steady over the month at 5.8%.

‍

California, Michigan, and Washington DC had the next highest unemployment rates at 5.4% each, followed by Kentucky at 5.3%, with Illinois at 4.8% rounding out the only 6 states with unemployment rates above the national average of 4.1%.

‍

Florida was the only state to see an increase in unemployment rate over the last month, but over the course of the last 12 months, 30 months have seen unemployment rise, with the largest increases recorded by Michigan (plus 1.4%), Mississippi (plus 1.0%), and Colorado (plus 0.8%). 

‍

States With The Lowest Unemployment Rates

South Dakota - holding steady over the month at 1.9% unemployment - continued its streak of claiming the lowest unemployment rate in the country, which now stretches to 14 months. 

‍

North Dakota and Vermont shared the next lowest unemployment rate - both holding steady over the month at 2.6% - followed by Nebrask, New Hampshire, and Hawaii at 3%.

‍

In total last month, 18 states had unemployment rates meaningfully lower than the US average of 4.1%.

‍

Over the last 12 months, 30 states have recorded an increase in unemployment. 

‍

States With New Job Losses

No state recorded significant net job losses over the last month or over the last year.

‍

States With New Job Gains

Missouri, New Jersey, and Ohio were the only states that recorded a net increase in payroll figures last month, growing by 0.4% each, amounting to increases of about 13 thousand, 19 thousand, and 23 thousand jobs, respectively.

‍

Over the last 12 months, 17 states in total have recorded net job additions. The largest proportional gain was recorded in Idaho, which increased its workforce by 2.7% over that time frame, followed by South Carolina and Utah at plus 2% each.

‍

Texas, Florida, and New York had the largest raw number of job gains over the past year at about 14 million, 10 million, and 10 million, respectively.

‍

Mployer’s Take

This market summary represents a positive improvement over last month’s market summary which showed month-to-month net job losses across several states. 

‍

That said, while this data comes from the first full month of the second Trump administration, the economic impacts that will result from the policy changes that accompanied the transfer of power have not yet become apparent in these labor market reports.

‍

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly how many federal workers have been laid off, which some observers claim added up to more than 60 thousand in February alone while the Department of Government Efficiency itself claims that figure is much smaller when voluntary retirements and resignations are taken into account. 

‍

Even less clear are the number of tangential private sector workers whose work is supported by federal employees and/or federal funding that may now be less available and/or less effective than it was in the past, so the secondary effects of federal workforce funding cuts are even further from having worked down the pipeline. 

‍

As a result, the holding pattern continues, and will likely continue for at least another couple of months as Trump wraps up the first 100 days of his second term in April  - the period during which president’s are often most productive in executing their agendas. 

‍

Of course, there is no set deadline at which point the outcomes of these actions will be ultimately evaluated, and the effectiveness of some of those actions may well be a point of differing opinion well into the future.

‍

But the early signs and indications about some of the near-term effects we can reasonably expect from the policy changes that have already been implemented may start to appear in the data as early as next month. 

‍

Looking for more exclusive content? Check out the Mployer blog.

‍