January 2026
Released April 08, 2026
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United States
Employment snapshot
In January, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 9, rose in 22, and remained unchanged in 20.
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 4.3 percent.
In January, payroll jobs rose in 45 states and fell in 6. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.5 percent in California and North Dakota. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.7 percent in District of Columbia.
New York
Employment snapshot
In January, New York added 23,800 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6 percent. In the prior month, New York added 26,400 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, New York added 45,300 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points from 4.1 percent.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 11th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In January, New York’s private sector added 20,200 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 28,400 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New York added 27,900 net private payroll jobs.
In January, employment in New York rose by 23,857, and over the past 12 months it rose by 86,927.
New York’s labor force participation rate rose to 61.7 percent in January from 61.6 percent and ranks 34th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.8 percentage points.
New York
Payroll employment
New York added 23,800 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during January. In the prior month, New York added 26,400 jobs. New York nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 8 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 11th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
New York added 20,200 private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during January. In the prior month, New York added 27,900 jobs. New York private sector payroll employment has increased in 8 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 186,000 jobs in March, or 0.1 percent. New York ranks 24th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
From December 2025 to January 2026:
- The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+7,100) and Professional and Business Services (+7,000).
- The worst performing sectors were Information (-800) and Manufacturing (-600).
From January 2025 to January 2026:
- The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+44,500) and State and Local Government (+24,800).
- The worst performing sectors were Manufacturing (-10,700) and Federal Government (-7,900).
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 61.7 percent in January from 61.6 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 61.7 percent in January 2026, 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 61.9 percent in March.