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.

Iowa

Employment snapshot

• In April, Iowa added 3,400 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.3 percent. In the prior month, Iowa added 600 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, Iowa lost 15,100 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points from 3.6 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. Iowa is tied for 47th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In April, Iowa’s private sector added 3,100 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it lost 13,600 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, Iowa added 800 net private payroll jobs.

• In April, employment in Iowa fell by 2,881, and over the past 12 months it rose by 3,412.

• Iowa’s labor force participation rate fell to 67.5 percent in April from 67.7 percent and ranks 4th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.3 percentage points.

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Iowa

Payroll employment

• Iowa added 3,400 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, Iowa added 600 jobs. Iowa nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 6 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. Iowa is tied for 47th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• Iowa added 3,100 private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, Iowa added 800 jobs. Iowa private sector payroll employment has increased in 4 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 123,000 jobs in April, or 0.1 percent. Iowa ranks 49th 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 Leisure and Hospitality (+2,000) and Private Education and Health Services (+900).
• The worst performing sectors were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-700) and Professional and Business Services (-500).

From April 2025 to April 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+4,500) and Construction (+2,300).
• The worst performing sectors were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-8,500) and Manufacturing (-3,800).

Iowa

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 Iowa fell to 67.5 percent in April from 67.7 percent in the prior month.

• Iowa ranks 4th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in Iowa was 70.2 percent occurring in August 2019, and the 10-year low was 65.3 percent in August 2020.

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