Covered employment (QCEW) in United States

Covered employment (QCEW) in the United States was 155,732,363 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 0.5% from 2024.

2025, jobs155,732,363
Change on 2024+0.5%
Series high155,732,3632025
Series low127,795,8272003

Next release: Saturday, 21 August 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

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Covered employment (QCEW) in United States, 2001 to 2025

120M130M140M150M160M20012005200920132017202120252001: 129,635,800 jobs2002: 128,233,919 jobs2003: 127,795,827 jobs2004: 129,278,176 jobs2005: 131,571,623 jobs2006: 133,833,834 jobs2007: 135,366,106 jobs2008: 134,805,659 jobs2009: 128,607,842 jobs2010: 127,820,442 jobs2011: 129,411,095 jobs2012: 131,696,378 jobs2013: 133,968,434 jobs2014: 136,613,609 jobs2015: 139,491,699 jobs2016: 141,870,066 jobs2017: 143,859,855 jobs2018: 146,131,754 jobs2019: 148,105,092 jobs2020: 139,103,773 jobs2021: 143,780,068 jobs2022: 150,025,655 jobs2023: 153,140,899 jobs2024: 154,990,441 jobs2025: 155,732,363 jobs120M130M140M150M160M2001201020252001: 129,635,800 jobs2002: 128,233,919 jobs2003: 127,795,827 jobs2004: 129,278,176 jobs2005: 131,571,623 jobs2006: 133,833,834 jobs2007: 135,366,106 jobs2008: 134,805,659 jobs2009: 128,607,842 jobs2010: 127,820,442 jobs2011: 129,411,095 jobs2012: 131,696,378 jobs2013: 133,968,434 jobs2014: 136,613,609 jobs2015: 139,491,699 jobs2016: 141,870,066 jobs2017: 143,859,855 jobs2018: 146,131,754 jobs2019: 148,105,092 jobs2020: 139,103,773 jobs2021: 143,780,068 jobs2022: 150,025,655 jobs2023: 153,140,899 jobs2024: 154,990,441 jobs2025: 155,732,363 jobs
jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-08-21.
All 25 values
Periodjobs
2025155,732,363
2024154,990,441
2023153,140,899
2022150,025,655
2021143,780,068
2020139,103,773
2019148,105,092
2018146,131,754
2017143,859,855
2016141,870,066
2015139,491,699
2014136,613,609
2013133,968,434
2012131,696,378
2011129,411,095
2010127,820,442
2009128,607,842
2008134,805,659
2007135,366,106
2006133,833,834
2005131,571,623
2004129,278,176
2003127,795,827
2002128,233,919
2001129,635,800

Rankings

Definition

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

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How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (Covered employment (QCEW), United States, 2001 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), United States, 2001 to 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Covered employment (QCEW), United States, 2001 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/united-states.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, Covered employment (QCEW), United States, 2001 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/united-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_covered_employment_qcew_united_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), United States, 2001 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/united-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: Covered employment (QCEW), United States, 2001 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/united-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/covered-employment/united-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

What is the covered employment (QCEW) in United States?

Covered employment (QCEW) in the United States was 155,732,363 jobs in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is up 0.5% from 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest covered employment (QCEW) in United States?

155,732,363 jobs in 2025, the highest value since 2001 in this series.

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