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.

California

Employment snapshot

• In April, California lost 3,300 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.3 percent. In the prior month, California added 37,500 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, California added 101,500 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point from 5.4 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. California is tied for 5th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In April, California’s private sector lost 5,300 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 137,200 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, California added 30,500 net private payroll jobs.

• In April, employment in California fell by 42,588, and over the past 12 months it fell by 41,113.

• California’s labor force participation rate fell to 62.1 percent in April from 62.3 percent and is tied for 28th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.2 percentage points.

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California

Payroll employment

• California lost 3,300 net payroll jobs, or 0 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, California added 37,500 jobs. California nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. California is tied for 5th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• California lost 5,300 private sector jobs, or 0 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, California added 30,500 jobs. California private sector payroll employment has increased in 6 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 123,000 jobs in April, or 0.1 percent. California is tied for 3rd 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 (+11,500) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+3,000).
• The worst performing sectors were Information (-7,400) and Professional and Business Services (-5,900).

From April 2025 to April 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+151,300) and Leisure and Hospitality (+31,800).
• The worst performing sectors were Federal Government (-25,200) and Manufacturing (-17,000).

California

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 California fell to 62.1 percent in April from 62.3 percent in the prior month.

• California is tied for 28th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in California was 63 percent in February 2020, and the 10-year low was 59.6 percent in May 2020.

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