There are few things as fundamentally important to the well-being of an economy as employment, and it’s no different in the heartland. Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases new data on job gains and the unemployment rate at the national, state, and metropolitan levels. While most of the conversation around these numbers is focused at the national level, the state and community-level data can reveal a more nuanced narrative on the U.S. economy. 

The discussion below focuses on the nuances revealed when comparing heartland and non-heartland labor markets, which then inform how economic factors such as inflation or the growth of local manufacturing impact the overall economic health of the heartland as a whole.

Heartland Employment Snapshot: 

• Consistent Growth: Over the last year, both the heartland and non-heartland regions of the country have seen the same rate of job growth, sitting at just under 1% growth in the last 12 months. Considering continuing economic uncertainty, the nation continues to show strong job growth in both regions.
• Industry Highlights (and Lowlights):
  • Construction: While year-over-year construction numbers in both heartland and non-heartland states are growing more slowly compared to a year ago, heartland construction is significantly outpacing the rest of the country, with 77,200 jobs added in heartland construction and 20,900 from the rest of the country. This is a growth of 2.5% in the heartland vs 0.4% outside of it.
  • Trade, Transportation and Utilities: Between April 2024 and March 2025, the trade, transportation and utilities sector saw growth in the heartland, doubling the year-over-year growth the region saw in the same month of 2024.
  • Government: We have continued to see state government employment outpace Federal layoffs. It’s possible that we are seeing state agencies fill the holes left by federal government layoffs, or seeing state positions be filled by a sudden increased labor pool by ex-federal government employees. 
• Holding Steady:The labor force is showing signs of stability, with unemployment in heartland and non-heartland regions demonstrating stable employment growth. The heartland has added over 290,000 new jobs since the start of 2025, and the rest of the country has added just over 260,000. The growth in the heartland’s construction and trade, transportation and utilities sectors have contributed to its strong start.
• Unemployment: The heartland and non-heartland unemployment rates held steady in March (4.1% and 4.2%, respectively). An unemployment rate near 4% is generally considered a sign of a healthy labor market.

Heartland State Spotlight:

• South Dakota continues to be the country’s tightest labor market, as it has for over a year, with an unemployment rate of 1.8%.
• Texas and Ohio were home to the two biggest employment changes from March to April. The former gained 37,700 jobs and the latter gained 22,200 jobs, increases of 0.3% and 0.4% respectively. Texas also had the biggest year-over-year growth, adding 215,500 jobs from April 2024 to April 2025.
• Indiana has decreased its unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage points for the second month in a row, turning the state’s unemployment from 4.3% to 3.9% over the course of two months. The state had the nation’s biggest unemployment decrease the last two months as well.