February 2026

Released April 22, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In February, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 9, rose in 18, and remained unchanged in 24.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.5 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.3 percent in Hawaii and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.3 percent.

• In February, payroll jobs rose in 14 states and fell in 36. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Wyoming. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.6 percent in Nebraska.

North Dakota

Employment snapshot

• In February, North Dakota added 1,100 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.6 percent. In the prior month, North Dakota added 2,300 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, North Dakota added 600 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. North Dakota is tied for 17th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In February, North Dakota’s private sector added 900 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 300 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, North Dakota added 1,500 net private payroll jobs.

• In February, employment in North Dakota rose by 804, and over the past 12 months it rose by 6,795.

• North Dakota’s labor force participation rate rose to 70.1 percent in February from 70 percent and is tied for 2nd in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has risen by 0.6 percentage points.

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North Dakota

Payroll employment

• North Dakota added 1,100 net payroll jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during February. In the prior month, North Dakota added 2,300 jobs. North Dakota nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 5 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 178,000 in March, or 0.1 percent. North Dakota is tied for 17th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• North Dakota added 900 private sector jobs, or 0.2 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during February. In the prior month, North Dakota added 1,500 jobs. North Dakota private sector payroll employment has increased in 4 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 186,000 jobs in March, or 0.1 percent. North Dakota is tied for 24th in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From January 2026 to February 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+400) and Professional and Business Services (+300).
• The worst performing sectors were Construction (-400) and Information (-100).

From February 2025 to February 2026:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+1,700) and Construction (+1,000).
• The worst performing sectors were Leisure and Hospitality (-1,200) and Mining and Logging (-800).

North Dakota

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 North Dakota rose to 70.1 percent in February from 70 percent in the prior month.

• North Dakota is tied for 2nd in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in North Dakota was 70.9 percent occurring in April 2017, and the 10-year low was 68.3 percent occurring in January 2021.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 61.9 percent in March.