Which States Added the Most Jobs This Year?

Posted By Mike Maciag | May 17, 2013

U.S. Labor Department data released Friday shows payroll employment climbed in 30 states last month after the most recent jobs report exceeded many analysts’ expectations.

Only a handful of states added more than 10,000 jobs for the month, led by Texas (+33,100) and New York (+25,300). Most states didn’t experience any major swings in employment, and only Minnesota and Wisconsin recorded significant month-over-month job losses.

Over the first four months of the year, though, a few states have enjoyed notable job gains.

The most populous states (as is typically the case) added the most total jobs. Texas saw its payrolls expand by an estimated 121,300 so far this year, while Colorado (+26,900), Utah (+19,900) and Washington state (+31,900) have also fared particularly well, registering the largest percentage increases in payroll employment.

Here’s a table with seasonally-adjusted nonfarm payroll employment, comparing the preliminary data just released to each state's totals for December.

State	Change since 12/2012	March-April Jobs gained/lost	April 2013 Jobs

Texas	121,300	33,100	11,146,000
California	77,200	10,300	14,602,200
Florida	63,300	17,000	7,515,400
New York	57,800	25,300	8,904,700
Washington	31,900	3,800	2,917,200
Georgia	28,200	4,300	4,016,800
Michigan	27,900	-4,500	4,056,800
Colorado	26,900	11,600	2,362,700
North Carolina	22,300	6,100	4,054,600
Virginia	20,100	12,100	3,765,900
Utah	19,900	-1,600	1,286,100
New Jersey	18,100	3,300	3,950,300
Tennessee	17,600	4,500	2,757,300
Oregon	17,000	3,700	1,660,800
Maryland	13,700	-6,200	2,602,900
Massachusetts	12,900	-1,400	3,312,000
Mississippi	11,100	2,700	1,119,300
Pennsylvania	10,400	6,700	5,753,000
Connecticut	9,600	6,300	1,649,300
Minnesota	8,700	-11,400	2,760,600
Arkansas	8,400	4,500	1,189,300
Ohio	8,200	7,600	5,183,200
Alabama	8,000	3,200	1,892,500
Oklahoma	6,800	1,800	1,624,800
Arizona	6,500	-1,100	2,494,800
Idaho	5,800	700	634,900
South Carolina	5,000	3,100	1,881,500
Indiana	4,600	4,400	2,928,300
Missouri	4,600	12,100	2,692,500
Maine	3,700	-400	597,400
West Virginia	3,300	-100	769,500
New Mexico	3,300	2,200	810,500
Nevada	3,200	5,600	1,161,900
New Hampshire	3,100	-400	638,400
Delaware	2,900	-300	424,400
Illinois	2,600	-2,000	5,775,500
South Dakota	2,600	-900	418,500
North Dakota	2,500	0	441,200
Iowa	2,300	0	1,518,000
Rhode Island	1,800	500	467,400
Wyoming	1,100	-600	289,900
Hawaii	1,000	3,000	612,600
Nebraska	400	-3,300	962,000
Kansas	300	-1,700	1,366,200
Vermont	200	-100	306,300
Alaska	-200	100	335,200
Montana	-400	-100	445,200
Kentucky	-500	3,200	1,836,200
Louisiana	-1,700	700	1,943,700
Wisconsin	-14,300	-24,100	2,781,700

Unemployment rates similarly dropped in 40 states and the District of Columbia last month, while only three states recorded increases. Nevada still has the nation’s highest rate (9.6 percent) followed by Illinois and Mississippi.

Mike Maciag

Mike Maciag is Data Editor for GOVERNING.

E-mail: mmaciag@governing.com
Twitter: @mmaciag

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