December 2025

Released January 27, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In December, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 8, rose in 21, and remained unchanged in 22.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.2 percent in Hawaii and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.4 percent.

• In December, payroll jobs rose in 23 states and fell in 27. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Delaware and Montana. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Kansas and Nebraska.

New York

Employment snapshot

• In December, New York added 19,100 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4.6 percent. In the prior month, New York added 21,700 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, New York added 73,900 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percentage points from 4.4 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. New York is tied for 21st in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In December, New York’s private sector added 16,000 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 65,100 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New York added 21,500 net private payroll jobs.

• In December, employment in New York rose by 36,257, and over the past 12 months it rose by 105,506.

• New York’s labor force participation rate rose to 61.5 percent in December from 61.2 percent and ranks 34th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.6 percentage points.

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New York

Payroll employment

• New York added 19,100 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, New York added 21,700 jobs. New York nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. New York is tied for 21st in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• New York added 16,000 private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, New York added 21,500 jobs. New York private sector payroll employment has increased in 9 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 37,000 jobs in December, or 0 percent. New York is tied for 18th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From November 2025 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+10,600) and Professional and Business Services (+5,800).
• The worst performing sectors were Manufacturing (-1,500) and Leisure and Hospitality (-1,000).

From December 2024 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+120,000) and State and Local Government (+16,200).
• The worst performing sectors were Construction (-15,700) and Financial Activities (-13,500).

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 rose to 61.5 percent in December from 61.2 percent in the prior month.

• New York ranks 34th in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New York was 61.5 percent in December 2025, and the 10-year low was 56.1 percent in April 2020.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 62.4 percent in December.