Dashboard 1 of 2
U.S. Labor Market Performance Dashboard
Compare states on employment growth, growth profiles, industry contributions and trends, and occupational specialization.
Data Analytics
U.S. Labor Market Performance & Workforce Opportunities
An interactive analysis of U.S. employment growth, compensation trends, industry contributions, and occupational specialization across 50 states and Washington, D.C., using Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2015–2025.
- Idaho employment growth
- +31.51%
- Highest state growth, 2015–2025
- Employment vs. pay growth correlation
- 0.602
- Nominal pay; not causal
- Markets with health care in top-three growth contributors
- 94%
- 47 of 50 eligible markets, 2015–2024
- Primary analysis period
- 2015–2025
- QCEW; OEWS covers 2021–2025
01
Overview
An exploratory analysis of labor market performance across the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. It compares how states differ in employment expansion, compensation growth, the industries contributing to job gains, the stability of growth over time, and the occupations concentrated in each state's workforce. The results are published as an interactive Tableau dashboard for geographic comparison.
02
Problem
National labor market figures hide large differences between states. The project asks where employment grew fastest, whether pay kept pace, which industries drove job gains, whether growth was steady or shaped by shocks, and which occupations each state specializes in. It is intended to support exploratory market evaluation, workforce planning, and strategic discussions about regional economic opportunities.
03
Data
Two public datasets from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), covering all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2015–2025
- State-level employment
- Average annual pay
- Industry employment and growth contributions
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2021–2025
- Occupational employment estimates
- Occupational wage estimates
- Geographic occupational specialization
04
Architecture / Method
Method
Each question was analyzed as a separate comparison, with its time window and eligibility rules set by the data available for that question.
- 01State-level employment growth comparison
- 02Nominal average annual pay growth comparison
- 03Correlation between employment growth and pay growth
- 04State segmentation using median growth values
- 05Annual employment trajectories and shock/recovery comparison
- 06Industry-level employment growth contributions
- 07Data coverage and suppression checks
- 08Occupational employment distribution and geographic specialization
- 09Interactive geographic comparison in Tableau
05
Analysis / Implementation
Comparability rules were applied before drawing conclusions. Because industry reporting coverage was incomplete for some states in 2025, the industry comparison uses 2015–2024 and includes only markets with at least 95% employment coverage at both endpoints — 50 markets, with Delaware excluded. Cumulative growth was read alongside annual trajectories, since a strong ten-year total can hide a sharp single-year decline. The occupational analysis separates total employment in an occupation group from that group's concentration within a state's workforce. The findings are combined in a Tableau dashboard for comparing states geographically and by industry and occupation.
06
Results
Growth was uneven across states, positively but imperfectly related to pay growth, and led in most markets by health care.
01Geographic employment growth
2015–20258.44%Median state employment growth
Growth was geographically uneven. Leading states:
- Idaho: +31.51%
- Utah: +29.87%
- Nevada: +26.08%
- Arizona: +23.95%
- Florida: +23.32%
02Employment and compensation
2015–20250.602Correlation, employment vs. nominal pay growth
Median nominal average-pay growth was 47.16%. States with faster employment growth tended to see faster pay growth, but the relationship is not uniform.
- Some states combined strong employment growth with comparatively weaker pay growth.
- Others showed the opposite pattern.
A positive correlation does not establish causation.
03Industry growth drivers
2015–202447 of 50Markets with health care in the top three contributors
Health Care and Social Assistance was the largest contributor in 36 of 50 markets (72%), adding approximately 4.0 million jobs across the analyzed markets. Other recurring top-three contributors:
- Professional, Scientific & Technical Services: 33 markets
- Construction: 24 markets
- Transportation & Warehousing: 20 markets
- Accommodation & Food Services: 8 markets
Markets with at least 95% employment coverage at both endpoints; Delaware excluded.
04Historical stability and recovery
2015–2025- Idaho and Utah showed sustained expansion.
- Florida grew strongly over the period despite a substantial employment decline in 2020.
- Hawaii's employment fell by approximately 15% in 2020.
- North Dakota's employment weakness began before the pandemic.
Cumulative growth and historical stability need to be evaluated separately.
05Occupational specialization
2021–2025Occupation groups that are unusually concentrated in a state's workforce, as distinct from the largest groups by total employment:
- Washington: Computer and Mathematical
- Michigan: Architecture and Engineering
- Indiana: Production
- Wyoming: Construction and Extraction
- District of Columbia: Legal, Business, and Management
Occupational concentration is not equivalent to job vacancies or unmet hiring demand.
Limitations
- Average-pay growth is nominal, not inflation-adjusted.
- Correlation does not establish causation.
- Industry data can contain confidentiality suppression.
- Industry comparisons require adequate employment coverage.
- Occupational estimates should not automatically be treated as directly comparable annual employment growth.
- The analysis is historical and descriptive, not predictive.
07
Visualizations
Two interactive dashboards accompany this analysis. Each can also be opened on its own in Tableau Public.
Dashboard 2 of 2
U.S. Occupational Opportunity Dashboard
Explore occupational employment and wage estimates by state, and which occupation groups are most concentrated in each state's workforce. Concentration describes workforce composition, not job vacancies.
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Technologies
- Tableau
- Tableau Public
09
Takeaways
- Cumulative growth and year-to-year stability answer different questions: Florida's strong ten-year total includes a substantial 2020 decline.
- Industry comparisons are only meaningful with adequate coverage, which is why the industry analysis used a 95% coverage threshold and ended in 2024.
- A 0.602 correlation between employment and pay growth is a prompt for further questions, not evidence that one drives the other.
- Occupational concentration describes what a state's workforce specializes in; it is not a signal of open positions.
- Pay growth is nominal, so an inflation-adjusted comparison is a natural next step.