
Western Blue Chip Current Update
April 21, 2023
The states included in the Western Blue Chip Economic Forecast are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
WESTERN STATES SET GROWTH PACE IN POST-PANDEMIC RECOVERY
Idaho Posted Most Rapid Growth, Texas Added Most New Jobs In Past Three Years
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released revised 2021 and 2022 employment growth figures for states, allowing for an updated review of performance in the post-pandemic recovery. Nonfarm employment for the U.S. grew 2.0% between February 2020 and February 2023, as national employment cratered and then recovered. Compared to employment in February 2020, three years later the nation has added some 3 million new jobs. The most rapid employment growth rate was recorded in the Western state of Idaho (9.4%). Texas, also a Western state, added the greatest absolute number of new jobs (851,200) in the past three years.
States Ranked by Percentage Change in Employment
(February 2020 – February 2023)
Rank | State | Percentage Change | Employment Change |
United States | 2.0% | 2,988,000 | |
1 | IDAHO | 9.4% | 71,900 |
2 | UTAH | 8.5% | 133,700 |
3 | TEXAS | 6.6% | 851,200 |
4 | NEVADA | 6.5% | 92,900 |
5 | Florida | 6.4% | 581,300 |
6 | MONTANA | 6.1% | 29,000 |
7 | North Carolina | 5.6% | 257,200 |
8 | Tennessee | 5.1% | 158,600 |
9 | ARIZONA | 4.9% | 146,300 |
10 | Arkansas | 4.5% | 58,000 |
11 | Georgia | 4.4% | 205,300 |
12 | South Carolina | 4.1% | 88,500 |
13 | South Dakota | 3.8% | 16,500 |
14 | WASHINGTON | 3.0% | 102,700 |
15 | Alabama | 2.7% | 56,300 |
16 | Delaware | 2.7% | 12,200 |
17 | COLORADO | 2.4% | 68,100 |
18 | Indiana | 2.4% | 74,600 |
19 | Kentucky | 2.2% | 42,600 |
20 | New Jersey | 2.0% | 82,800 |
21 | CALIFORNIA | 1.5% | 262,400 |
22 | Missouri | 1.5% | 43,000 |
23 | Kansas | 1.4% | 20,500 |
24 | Mississippi | 1.4% | 16,600 |
25 | Oklahoma | 1.4% | 23,900 |
26 | New Hampshire | 1.3% | 9,100 |
27 | Nebraska | 1.3% | 13,100 |
28 | Virginia | 1.2% | 46,800 |
29 | Maine | 0.8% | 5,200 |
30 | OREGON | 0.8% | 14,900 |
31 | NEW MEXICO | 0.2% | 1,700 |
32 | Iowa | 0.2% | 2,500 |
33 | Pennsylvania | 0.1% | 6,800 |
34 | WYOMING | 0.1% | 300 |
35 | Wisconsin | 0.1% | 1,700 |
36 | Massachusetts | -0.2% | -6,600 |
37 | Alaska | -0.2% | -700 |
38 | Illinois | -0.3% | -18,200 |
39 | Ohio | -0.5% | -28,500 |
40 | Minnesota | -0.6% | -17,200 |
41 | Connecticut | -0.6% | -10,300 |
42 | Michigan | -0.7% | -31,400 |
43 | North Dakota | -1.1% | -4,700 |
44 | New York | -1.7% | -165,300 |
45 | West Virginia | -1.8% | -12,300 |
46 | Maryland | -1.8% | -50,500 |
47 | Rhode Island | -1.9% | -9,700 |
48 | Louisiana | -2.4% | -47,200 |
49 | Vermont | -2.9% | -9,100 |
50 | Hawaii | -4.5% | -30,000 |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Seidman’s Job Growth USA
Six of the top ten fastest growing states were in the West (shown capitalized in the accompanying table), including the top four most rapidly growing states. Overall, there were 19 states that grew faster than the national average of 2.0%, and eight of these were in the West. Meanwhile, 15 states (shown at the bottom of the table) have not yet returned to the level of employment posted in the pre-pandemic month of February 2020. Hawaii has had the weakest recovery. As of February 2023, the state remains 4.5% below the employment of February 2020.
The top ten rankings for employment growth measured by number of jobs added since February 2020 included seven states that were also among the ten fastest growing (Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Utah, and Nevada). Six of the top ten adding the most jobs were again from the West.
Top Ten States by Numeric Increase in Employment
(February 2020 – February 2023)
Rank | State | Employment Change |
1 | TEXAS | 851,200 |
2 | Florida | 581,300 |
3 | CALIFORNIA | 262,400 |
4 | North Carolina | 257,200 |
5 | Georgia | 205,300 |
6 | Tennessee | 158,600 |
7 | ARIZONA | 146,300 |
8 | UTAH | 133,700 |
9 | WASHINGTON | 102,700 |
10 | NEVADA | 92,900 |
Total | 2,791,600 |
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Seidman’s Job Growth USA
Overall, the top ten states adding the most new jobs accounted for a major proportion of all new jobs (93%) created in the economy between February 2020 and February 2023. All Western states added 1.8 million jobs to employment rolls compared to February 2020. Total jobs created in the West accounted for more than one half (59%) of all jobs recovered in the period from February 2020 through February 2023.