Indiana had the largest year-over-year drop in unemployment in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) unemployment summary for June 2025.
The unemployment rate for the state was recorded at 3.6% in June 2025, down .6% from June 2024. BLS reported the national unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted, for June 2025 held at 4.1%.
From May 2025, unemployment rates were lower in June in two states, higher in one state, and stable in 47 states and the District of Columbia, including Indiana. Indiana’s May 2025 jobless rate was 3.7%, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD). The agency also reported that as of June 1, Indiana’s labor force participation for June 2025 was higher than the national rate at 63.7% and 62.3%, respectively.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had jobless rate increases from a year earlier. Four states, including the Hoosier state, had decreases, and 27 states had little change. The national unemployment rate, 4.1%, changed little over the month and was the same as in June 2024.
In June 2025, nonfarm payroll employment increased in one state and was essentially unchanged in 49 states and the District of Columbia from May. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 15 states and was essentially unchanged in 35 states and the District.
South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in June, 1.8%. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 5.9%. The next highest rates were in California and Nevada, 5.4% each. In total, 18 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S.
figure of 4.1%, six states and the District had higher rates, and 26 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
In June, two states had unemployment rate decreases: Illinois (-0.2 percentage point) and Maine (-0.1 point). Virginia had the only rate increase (+0.1 percentage point). The remaining 47 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from June 2024, the largest of which was in Mississippi (+1.1 percentage points). Four states had over-the-year rate decreases, the largest of which was in Indiana (-0.6 percentage point), followed by Illinois (-0.5%), West Virginia (-0.4%) and New York (-0.3%).
Twenty-seven states had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a year earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
In June 2025, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 1 state, Alaska (+3,100, or +0.9 percent), and was essentially unchanged in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 15 states and was essentially unchanged in 35 states and the District of Columbia. The largest job gains occurred in Texas (+198,300), Florida (+142,300), and New York (+100,100). The largest percentage increases occurred in South Carolina (+2.9 percent), Idaho (+2.5 percent), and Hawaii (+2.3 percent).
The state employment and unemployment summary from BLS uses statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of households. These data pertain to people by where they reside. The employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by where the establishments are located.
