May 2025 | Released June 24, 2025
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United States Employment Snapshot
In May, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 13, rose in 14, and remained unchanged in 24.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.9 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 1.8 percent in South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in May.
In May, payroll jobs rose in 37 states and fell in 11. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Montana. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.4 percent in Connecticut.
New York Employment Snapshot
In May, New York added 5,100 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage point to 4 percent. In the prior month, New York added 5,600 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, New York added 100,400 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points from 4.3 percent.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 139,000 in May, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 18th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In May, New York’s private sector added 7,500 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 86,800 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New York added 6,400 net private payroll jobs.
In May, employment in New York rose by 10,825, and over the past 12 months it rose by 63,629.
New York’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 61 percent in May and ranks 36th in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.1 percentage points.
New York Payroll Employment
New York added 5,100 net payroll jobs, or 0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, New York added 5,600 jobs. New York nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 9 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 139,000 in May, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 18th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
New York added 7,500 private sector jobs, or 0.1 percent. on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, New York added 6,400 jobs. New York private sector payroll employment has increased in 8 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 140,000 jobs in May, or 0.1 percent. New York is tied for 21st in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.
The best performing sectors on a seasonally adjusted basis during May were Education and Health Services (8,200) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (3,200).
The poorest performing sectors during the month were Other Services (-1,900) and Government (-2,400).
The best performing sectors during the last 12 months were Education and Health Services (93,500) and Government (13,600).
The poorest performing sectors during the last 12 months were Manufacturing (-4,700) and Construction (-6,800).
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 remained unchanged at 61 percent in May.
New York ranks 36th in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New York was 61.1 percent occurring in October 2023, and the 10-year low was 56.1 percent in April 2020.
The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 62.4 percent in May.