St. Louis Fed, Report: A State-Level Look at U.S. Labor Market Supply and Demand

“The tight U.S. labor market has been one of the most significant economic stories coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Headline unemployment was 3.4% in January 2023, the lowest rate since April 1969. With output back above pre-pandemic levels, demand for labor is high, and the weight of available evidence suggests that employers are struggling to find workers.”

“Combining certain Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measures allows us to assess total labor supply and demand and examine how labor market tightness varies nationwide. Differences across states show that variations in labor market tightness primarily come from job openings. States with the tightest labor markets have seen job openings soar and labor forces shrink, while those with the largest mismatches in the opposite direction have seen sharp declines in job openings (as opposed to larger labor forces).”