Texas has 1 million more people working today than in February 2020, while more than a dozen states have seen the reverse, with employment lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, according to Bloomberg.
In 16 states, more than 1 million fewer people total were employed in February 2024 compared to February 2020, according to Bloomberg's analysis based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The 16 states trailing their own 2020 employment levels are:
- California (down 410,408 workers)
- New York (down 159,301 workers)
- Maryland (down 137,797 workers)
- Illinois (down 74,800 workers)
- Ohio (down 64,233 workers)
- Massachusetts (down 52,130 workers)
- Kentucky (down 36,696 workers)
- Connecticut (down 36,466 workers)
- Iowa (down 30,177 workers)
- Hawaii (down 20,968 workers)
- New Hampshire (down 12,141 workers)
- Minnesota (down 10,304 workers)
- Mississippi (down 9,896 workers)
- Maine (down 5,814 workers)
- Indiana (down 1,895 workers)
- Washington (down 945 workers)
Many of these states also have the highest unemployment rates in the U.S., although this correlation doesn't apply to all of the mentioned states. In February, California secured a 5.3% unemployment rate. New York landed at 4.4% and Illinois at 4.8% — all above the national average of 3.9%.