April 2026

Released May 22, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In April, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 15, rose in 9, and remained unchanged in 27.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.2 percent in South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in April.

• In April, payroll jobs rose in 42 states and fell in 9. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.6 percent in New Mexico. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.4 percent in North Dakota.

Arizona

Employment snapshot

• In April, Arizona added 8,100 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.7 percent. In the prior month, Arizona added 1,900 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, Arizona added 13,300 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points from 4.2 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. Arizona is tied for 12th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In April, Arizona’s private sector added 7,200 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 20,100 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, Arizona added 2,000 net private payroll jobs.

• In April, employment in Arizona fell by 24,946, and over the past 12 months it fell by 49,341.

• Arizona’s labor force participation rate fell to 61 percent in April from 61.4 percent and is tied for 34th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 1.1 percentage points.

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Arizona

Payroll employment

• Arizona added 8,100 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, Arizona added 1,900 jobs. Arizona nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 8 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. Arizona is tied for 12th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• Arizona added 7,200 private sector jobs, or 0.3 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, Arizona added 2,000 jobs. Arizona private sector payroll employment has increased in 9 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 123,000 jobs in April, or 0.1 percent. Arizona is tied for 7th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From March 2026 to April 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+2,300) and Professional and Business Services (+2,200).
• The worst performing sectors were Manufacturing (-400) and Federal Government (-100).

From April 2025 to April 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+17,600) and Professional and Business Services (+7,400).
• The worst performing sectors were Financial Activities (-4,300) and State and Local Government (-3,400).

Arizona

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 Arizona fell to 61 percent in April from 61.4 percent in the prior month.

• Arizona is tied for 34th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in Arizona was 62.2 percent occurring in November 2019, and the 10-year low was 60.2 percent occurring in April 2016.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.8 percent in April.