WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released the May 2012 edition of its state-by-state snapshots which detail each individual state’s economic progress for the previous month.  The report shows that more than three-in-five states added private sector jobs in April and 130,000 private-sector jobs were added last month.

Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the JEC said, “Our economy continues to recover and progress has been made since the start of 2012. Unfortunately, the pace of job gains has slowed and it is important we do more to make sure that our nation’s businesses have the resources and incentives they need to create jobs now.

“The Small Business Job Creation Tax Credit Act (S. 1330) I introduced last year would give small businesses a 10-percent income tax credit on new payroll for hiring new workers or increasing employee wages. It would also allow businesses to fully deduct the cost of significant investments made this year, giving them an incentive to add jobs now.

“Our nation’s small businesses play a critical role in our economic growth and our recovery - three out of every four workers in the United States are hired by a business with 250 employees or less. Helping our small businesses add jobs is common-sense. Passing this legislation is something Congress can act on now that will bring results and provide a much needed boost to our still- fragile economy.”

Report highlights include:

• Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia added private-sector jobs in April.  Indiana (15,400) had the largest private-sector gains, followed by Texas (12,200) and Georgia (9,000).  In the past 12 months, 45 states and the District of Columbia gained private-sector jobs, with Texas (277,100), California (218,800) and New York (131,900) recording the largest gains.   During this period, 2.0 million private-sector positions were added nationally.
• Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia saw their unemployment rates decline in April, with 9 states and the District of Columbia recording statistically significant decreases.  Arizona and Oklahoma (-0.4 percentage point each) experienced the largest decreases. The national unemployment rate during the month was 8.1 percent, down from 9.0 percent a year earlier.
• Manufacturing employment expanded in 23 states in April. The largest gains were in Texas (6,300), followed by Indiana (6,200) and Kentucky (3,200).  In the past 12 months, 32 states added manufacturing positions.
• Twenty-nine states added jobs in the professional and business services sector in April.  In the last year, 618,000 jobs were added in the professional and business services sector.
• Twenty-five states added jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector during April.  In the past 12 months, 36 states and the District of Columbia added leisure and hospitality jobs.  During this period, leisure and hospitality employment increased by 317,000 positions.

The report entitled “Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots,” features key economic statistics for each state.  The report is the fifth edition released in 2012 by the Chairman of the JEC and uses recently released state-level data to explain how the economic recovery is unfolding in each state.

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