March 2025
Released April 18, 2025
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United States Employment Snapshot
In March, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 15, rose in 17, and remained unchanged in 19.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.7 percent in Nevada, and the lowest was 1.8 percent in South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4.2 percent.
In March, payroll jobs rose in 38 states and fell in 12. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.5 percent in Missouri. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Connecticut.
New York Employment Snapshot
In March, New York added 6,300 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.2 percent. In the prior month, New York added 100 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, New York added 126,200 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 228,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 9th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In March, New York’s private sector added 5,600 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 103,600 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New York lost 600 net private payroll jobs.
In March, employment in New York rose by 14,705, and over the past 12 months it rose by 38,645.
New York’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 60.9 percent in March and is tied for 36th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has remained unchanged.
New York Payroll Employment
New York added 6,300 net payroll jobs, or 0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during March. In the prior month, New York added 100 jobs. New York nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 10 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 228,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 9th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
New York added 5,600 private sector jobs, or 0.1 percent. on a seasonally adjusted basis during March. In the prior month, New York lost 600 jobs. New York private sector payroll employment has increased in 9 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 209,000 jobs in March, or 0.2 percent. New York is tied for 11th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
The best performing sectors on a seasonally adjusted basis during March were Education and Health Services (4,100) and Professional and Business Services (2,500).
The poorest performing sectors during the month were Construction tied with Manufacturing (-800) and Financial Activities (-1,200).
The best performing sectors during the last 12 months were Education and Health Services (88,200) and Government (22,600).
The poorest performing sectors during the last 12 months were Manufacturing (-5,200) and Construction (-9,700).
New York Labor Force
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.
The labor force participation rate in New York remained unchanged at 60.9 percent in March.
New York is tied for 36th in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New York was 61.1 percent occurring in October 2023, and the 10-year low was 56.1 percent in April 2020.
The national labor force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 62.5 percent in March.