State jobs report September 2026: nonfarm payrolls unchanged in 47 states as growth narrows to two

September nonfarm payrolls were essentially unchanged in 47 states and the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported at 10:00 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, leaving just two states, New Jersey and South Carolina, to account for the entire month's job gain. That is the narrowest state-level payroll story of the year, and it matters more than the national unemployment rate, which rose 0.1 point to 4.2 percent in September from 4.1 percent in August even as the job creation underneath it quietly thinned out.

Key Takeaways Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in 47 states and the District of Columbia in September; only New Jersey (+14,900) and South Carolina (+12,500…