Employment Situation in November: State-Level Analysis
Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington
January 5, 2024
construction labor,Construction Statistics,Economic Indicators,Economics,state and local markets,state employment
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 states and the District of Columbia in November compared to the previous month, while 13 states lost jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in November, following a gain of 150,000 jobs in October.
On a month-over-month basis, employment data was most favorable in Florida, which added 30,900 jobs, followed by Texas (+26,800), and Georgia (+14,300). Thirteen states lost a total of 45,500 jobs with Oregon reporting the steepest job losses at 7,300. In percentage terms, employment in Alabama increased by 0.6% while Oregon reported a 0.4% decline between October and November.
Year-over-year ending in November, 2.8 million jobs have been added to the labor market. Except for Rhode Island and Mississippi, all other states and the District of Columbia added jobs compared to a year ago. The range of job gains spanned from 407,100 jobs in Texas to 3,700 jobs in Alaska. Rhode Island and Mississippi lost a total of 7,800 jobs on a year-over-year basis. In percentage terms, Nevada reported the highest increase at 3.5%, while Mississippi showed the largest decreased at 0.6% compared to a year ago.
Across the nation, construction sector jobs data[1]—which includes both residential and non-residential construction— showed that 27 states reported an increase in November compared to October, while 20 states and the District of Columbia lost construction sector jobs. The remaining three, Alaska, Georgia, and Louisiana, reported no change on a month-over-month basis. Texas, with the highest increase, added 9,200 construction jobs, while New York, on the other end of the spectrum, lost 5,200 jobs. Overall, the construction industry added a net 2,000 jobs in November compared to the previous month. In percentage terms, Oklahoma reported the highest increase at 2.7%and Ohio reported the largest decline at 1.5%.
Year-over-year, construction sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 200,000, which is a 2.6% increase compared to the November 2022 level. Texas added 35,700 jobs, which was the largest gain of any state, while New York lost 6,300 construction sector jobs. In percentage terms, Kentucky had the highest annual growth rate in the construction sector at 14.5%. Over this period, North Dakota reported a decline of 8.2%.
[1] For this analysis, BLS combined employment totals for mining, logging, and construction are treated as construction employment for the District of Columbia, Delaware, and Hawaii.
