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.

New York

Employment snapshot

• In April, New York lost 10,600 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6 percent. In the prior month, New York added 1,900 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, New York added 34,600 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points from 4.1 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 115,000 in April, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 14th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In April, New York’s private sector lost 10,200 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 30,000 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New York added 1,100 net private payroll jobs.

• In April, employment in New York fell by 12,115, and over the past 12 months it rose by 83,945.

• New York’s labor force participation rate fell to 61.7 percent in April from 61.8 percent and ranks 33rd in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.8 percentage points.

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New York

Payroll employment

• New York lost 10,600 net payroll jobs, or -0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, New York added 1,900 jobs. New York 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. New York is tied for 14th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• New York lost 10,200 private sector jobs, or -0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during April. In the prior month, New York added 1,100 jobs. New York private sector payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 123,000 jobs in April, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 18th 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 Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (+4,000) and Manufacturing (+1,100).
• The worst performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (-7,700) and Professional and Business Services (-3,800).

From April 2025 to April 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+31,300) and State and Local Government (+11,700).
• The worst performing sectors were Manufacturing (-9,400) and Federal Government (-7,100).

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 fell to 61.7 percent in April from 61.8 percent in the prior month.

• New York ranks 33rd in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New York was 61.8 percent occurring in February 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 61.8 percent in April.