Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Latest Data: 2022
Frequency: Annual

The employment rates given here are the percentages of the states' civilian non-institutional population (the number of people aged 16 and older who are not incarcerated or on active duty in the military) that is employed. The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes statewide and metropolitan area data on demographic and economic characteristics of the labor force from the Current Population Survey (CPS), in its Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS), a  program that  "produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor force data for Census regions and divisions, States, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of residence."

The LAUS contains the civilian non-institutional population, the number of people in the labor force, the number of people employed, and the number of people unemployed.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “the labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed persons. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed expressed as a percent of the labor force. The employment-population ratio is the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and older that is employed.”

 For more about using data from the BLS see; Notes on Using Current Population Survey (CPS) Subnational Data.