United States Employment Snapshot
In May, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 13, rose in 17, and remained unchanged in 21.
The highest unemployment rate was 5.3 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2 percent in North Dakota and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 4 percent.
In May, payroll jobs rose in 42 states and fell in 9. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.9 percent in Idaho. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Minnesota.
Texas Employment Snapshot
In May, Texas added 41,800 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4 percent. In the prior month, Texas added 37,400 net payroll jobs.
Over the past 12 months, Texas added 316,700 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. Texas is tied for 7th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
In May, Texas’s private sector added 39,300 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 257,700 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, Texas added 36,000 net private payroll jobs.
In May, employment in Texas rose by 32,480, and over the past 12 months it rose by 189,862.
Texas’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 64.2 percent in May and ranks 21st in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.4 percentage points.
Texas Payroll Employment
Texas added 41,800 net payroll jobs, or 0.3 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, Texas added 37,400 jobs. Texas nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 11 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 272,000 in May, or 0.2 percent. Texas is tied for 7th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.
Texas added 39,300 private sector jobs, or 0.3 percent. on a seasonally adjusted basis during May. In the prior month, Texas added 36,000 jobs. Texas private sector payroll employment has increased in 11 of the past 12 months.
Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 229,000 jobs in May, or 0.2 percent. Texas is tied for 8th 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 Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (13,300) and Leisure and Hospitality (6,900).
The poorest performing sectors during the month were Information (0) and Mining and Logging (-1,600).
The best performing sectors during the last 12 months were Government (59,000) and Education and Health Services (55,200).
The poorest performing sectors during the last 12 months were Information (-1,300) and Mining and Logging (-6,100).
Texas 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 Texas remained unchanged at 64.2 percent in May.
Texas ranks 21st in the nation.
The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in Texas was 64.9 percent in May 2014, and the 10-year low was 60.3 percent in April 2020.
The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 62.5 percent in May.