Labour market dataBLS data for July 2026, read at source 9 September 2026
Unemployment Rate by State: July 2026 Figures, and What They Mean for Hiring
The national unemployment rate was 4.1% in July 2026, and state rates ranged from 2.0% in South Dakota to 5.9% in the District of Columbia — a spread of nearly four percentage points. The median state sat at 3.9%. Sixteen states were below 3.5%, which is the level at which employers stop competing for applicants and start competing for other employers' staff. The table below has all 51 jurisdictions; the tool under it tells you what your state's number actually implies for filling a role.
Freshness, and when this changes
These are July 2026 figures, seasonally adjusted and marked preliminary by BLS, which notes that “estimates for the current month are subject to revision the following month.” The August 2026 release was scheduled for 18 September 2026. If you are reading this after that date, treat the figures here as the most recent complete set at the time of writing and check the BLS page for the current month.
Unemployment rate by state, July 2026
Seasonally adjusted, ranked from lowest to highest. Tied rates share a rank, which is why the numbering skips. The final column is the gap against the national rate of 4.1%.
| State | Unemployment rate, July 2026 | Rank (lowest to highest) | vs. national 4.1% |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 2.0% | 1 | -2.1 |
| North Dakota | 2.2% | 2 | -1.9 |
| Vermont | 2.6% | 3 | -1.5 |
| Hawaii | 2.7% | 4 | -1.4 |
| New Hampshire | 2.8% | 5 | -1.3 |
| Nebraska | 2.9% | 6 | -1.2 |
| Wyoming | 3.0% | 7 | -1.1 |
| Maine | 3.1% | 8 | -1.0 |
| Iowa | 3.2% | 9 | -0.9 |
| Montana | 3.2% | 9 | -0.9 |
| Georgia | 3.3% | 11 | -0.8 |
| Indiana | 3.3% | 11 | -0.8 |
| Wisconsin | 3.3% | 11 | -0.8 |
| Alabama | 3.4% | 14 | -0.7 |
| Ohio | 3.4% | 14 | -0.7 |
| Tennessee | 3.4% | 14 | -0.7 |
| Idaho | 3.6% | 17 | -0.5 |
| Mississippi | 3.6% | 17 | -0.5 |
| Missouri | 3.6% | 17 | -0.5 |
| North Carolina | 3.6% | 17 | -0.5 |
| Utah | 3.6% | 17 | -0.5 |
| Virginia | 3.7% | 22 | -0.4 |
| Kansas | 3.8% | 23 | -0.3 |
| Colorado | 3.9% | 24 | -0.2 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.9% | 24 | -0.2 |
| Rhode Island | 3.9% | 24 | -0.2 |
| Arkansas | 4.0% | 27 | -0.1 |
| West Virginia | 4.1% | 28 | 0.0 |
| Maryland | 4.2% | 29 | +0.1 |
| South Carolina | 4.2% | 29 | +0.1 |
| Alaska | 4.3% | 31 | +0.2 |
| Minnesota | 4.3% | 31 | +0.2 |
| Oklahoma | 4.3% | 31 | +0.2 |
| Louisiana | 4.4% | 34 | +0.3 |
| Massachusetts | 4.4% | 34 | +0.3 |
| New Jersey | 4.4% | 34 | +0.3 |
| New York | 4.4% | 34 | +0.3 |
| Texas | 4.5% | 38 | +0.4 |
| Florida | 4.6% | 39 | +0.5 |
| Kentucky | 4.7% | 40 | +0.6 |
| Delaware | 4.8% | 41 | +0.7 |
| New Mexico | 4.8% | 41 | +0.7 |
| Arizona | 4.9% | 43 | +0.8 |
| Illinois | 4.9% | 43 | +0.8 |
| Michigan | 4.9% | 43 | +0.8 |
| Nevada | 5.0% | 46 | +0.9 |
| Washington | 5.0% | 46 | +0.9 |
| California | 5.1% | 48 | +1.0 |
| Connecticut | 5.2% | 49 | +1.1 |
| Oregon | 5.2% | 49 | +1.1 |
| District of Columbia | 5.9% | 51 | +1.8 |
What your state's number means for hiring
Pick a state to see its rate, its rank, and a plain reading of what that implies for filling a role there. Nothing is sent or stored — this runs in your browser.
State labour market reader
How to read the number without misreading it
The unemployment rate is a useful proxy for hiring difficulty and a bad substitute for thinking. Four cautions are worth more than the table itself.
It is measured by residence, not by workplace. BLS states plainly that the data “refer to place of residence.” If your plant sits ten minutes from a state line, neither state's figure describes your actual labour shed. The commuting area is the unit that matters, and no state table can give it to you.
A state is not a market. The spread within a large state is routinely wider than the spread between states. California at 5.1% contains both metropolitan areas well below the national rate and interior counties far above it. Where county or metropolitan figures exist for your area, they beat the state number every time.
It counts people looking, not people available. The rate measures those actively seeking work as a share of the labour force. It says nothing about the far larger group who are employed and would move for the right job — which, in a tight market, is the only group that matters. A state at 2.6% does not mean there is nobody to hire; it means the people you want already have jobs.
It says nothing about your occupation. A state can post a low overall rate while a specific trade in that state has more applicants than openings, and the reverse. Where an occupation has its own data — projected openings, typical entry route — that data is more directly useful than the aggregate rate.
The threshold that changes what you should do
The practical break point is somewhere around 3.5%. Above it, the constraint on filling a role is usually attention: enough of the right people have not seen the posting, and volume tactics work. Below it, the constraint changes character — the applicants you want are employed, they are not reading job boards, and every additional posting reaches the same shrinking pool of active searchers. Sixteen jurisdictions were below 3.5% in July 2026. In those markets, the employers who fill roles are the ones reaching people who were not looking.
What the spread looked like this month
Three groupings are worth naming. At the tight end, South Dakota (2.0%), North Dakota (2.2%), Vermont (2.6%), Hawaii (2.7%) and New Hampshire (2.8%) all sat more than a full point below the national rate — small labour forces where a single large employer's hiring can move the number.
In the middle, a dense cluster ran from about 3.6% to 4.4%, containing most of the industrial Midwest and the mid-Atlantic. These are markets where national hiring benchmarks transfer reasonably well.
At the loose end, eleven jurisdictions sat at 4.8% or above, led by the District of Columbia at 5.9% — where, as the BLS release noted, payroll employment fell over the year — along with Oregon and Connecticut at 5.2%, California at 5.1%, and Nevada and Washington at 5.0%. In those markets, applicant volume is generally not the problem.
The BLS release also gives the direction of travel: unemployment rates were “lower in July in 10 states and stable in 40 states and the District of Columbia,” and over the year twelve states rose, ten states and the District fell, and 28 states changed little. The national rate “changed little both over the month and over the year.” This is a labour market that is moving sideways, which means the state you hire in matters more than the month you hire in.
If your state sits at the tight end, the next question is how to reach people who are not searching. Our guides to the frontline labor shortage and to employee turnover rates by industry cover the two forces that decide most of it.
What this page cannot do
It cannot tell you about your county, your metropolitan area, or your commuting shed, and for most employers those are the numbers that matter. It cannot tell you about your occupation. And it cannot tell you what will happen next: these are preliminary estimates subject to revision, published monthly, and a single month's movement in a small state is frequently noise.
What it can do is set expectations before you spend money. An employer in a 2.6% market who budgets for the applicant volume a 5.2% market produces will conclude that their advertising failed, when what actually happened is that they mistook the labour market for the campaign.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the lowest unemployment rate?
South Dakota, at 2.0% in July 2026, seasonally adjusted, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. North Dakota was second at 2.2% and Vermont third at 2.6%. All three are small labour forces, which means their rates move more on modest changes than a large state's would.
Which state has the highest unemployment rate?
Among the 51 jurisdictions reported, the District of Columbia had the highest rate at 5.9% in July 2026. Among states, Connecticut and Oregon were highest at 5.2%, followed by California at 5.1%, and Nevada and Washington at 5.0%. The BLS release noted that payroll employment in the District fell 4.2% over the year.
What is the national unemployment rate?
The national unemployment rate was 4.1% in July 2026, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that it changed little both over the month and over the year. The median state rate was 3.9%, slightly below the national figure, which reflects the fact that several of the largest states sat above the national rate.
How often are state unemployment rates updated?
Monthly. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a State Employment and Unemployment news release each month through the Local Area Unemployment Statistics programme. The July 2026 release was published on 21 August 2026 and the August 2026 release was scheduled for 18 September 2026. Current-month estimates are preliminary and subject to revision the following month.
Does a low unemployment rate mean I cannot hire?
No, but it changes what works. The rate measures people actively seeking work, not people who would take a better job. In a state below about 3.5% the people you want are generally employed and not reading job listings, so posting in more places reaches the same shrinking pool of active searchers. Reaching people who are not searching, and being faster and clearer than the employer down the road, does more than additional postings.
Should I use my state's rate or a local one?
A local one wherever it exists. State figures are measured by place of residence, so they describe where workers live rather than where they work, and the variation inside a large state is routinely wider than the variation between states. If your site is near a state line, neither state's rate describes your actual labour shed. Use county or metropolitan area data when it is available.
Why do some states share the same rank?
Because they share the same rate. BLS ranks states from lowest to highest and gives tied states the same rank, which is why the numbering in the table skips values — five states tied at 3.6% all rank 17, and the next rank is 22. Rates are reported to one decimal place, so ties are common in a distribution this compressed.
The rate tells you how hard it will be. It does not tell you what to do about it.
We write and run the recruitment ads that put your open roles in front of people already scrolling Facebook and Instagram — including the ones who are employed and not searching — and report what each applicant costs with the management fee inside.
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