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In May 2013, a total of 21 states had jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 7.6 percent, 8 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 21 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate among states (9.5 percent). North Dakota again had the lowest jobless rate (3.2 percent).
State | Unemployment rate (p) | Difference from U.S. unemployment rate |
---|---|---|
Alabama | 6.8 | Not statistically different |
Alaska | 5.9 | Statistically significant, below |
Arizona | 7.8 | Not statistically different |
Arkansas | 7.3 | Not statistically different |
California | 8.6 | Statistically significant, above |
Colorado | 6.9 | Not statistically different |
Connecticut | 8.0 | Not statistically different |
Delaware | 7.2 | Not statistically different |
District of Columbia | 8.5 | Statistically significant, above |
Florida | 7.1 | Not statistically different |
Georgia | 8.3 | Statistically significant, above |
Hawaii | 4.7 | Statistically significant, below |
Idaho | 6.2 | Statistically significant, below |
Illinois | 9.1 | Statistically significant, above |
Indiana | 8.3 | Not statistically different |
Iowa | 4.6 | Statistically significant, below |
Kansas | 5.7 | Statistically significant, below |
Kentucky | 8.1 | Not statistically different |
Louisiana | 6.8 | Not statistically different |
Maine | 6.8 | Statistically significant, below |
Maryland | 6.7 | Statistically significant, below |
Massachusetts | 6.6 | Statistically significant, below |
Michigan | 8.4 | Not statistically different |
Minnesota | 5.3 | Statistically significant, below |
Mississippi | 9.1 | Statistically significant, above |
Missouri | 6.8 | Not statistically different |
Montana | 5.4 | Statistically significant, below |
Nebraska | 3.8 | Statistically significant, below |
Nevada | 9.5 | Statistically significant, above |
New Hampshire | 5.3 | Statistically significant, below |
New Jersey | 8.6 | Statistically significant, above |
New Mexico | 6.7 | Not statistically different |
New York | 7.6 | Not statistically different |
North Carolina | 8.8 | Statistically significant, above |
North Dakota | 3.2 | Statistically significant, below |
Ohio | 7.0 | Not statistically different |
Oklahoma | 5.0 | Statistically significant, below |
Oregon | 7.8 | Not statistically different |
Pennsylvania | 7.5 | Not statistically different |
Rhode Island | 8.9 | Statistically significant, above |
South Carolina | 8.0 | Not statistically different |
South Dakota | 4.0 | Statistically significant, below |
Tennessee | 8.3 | Not statistically different |
Texas | 6.5 | Statistically significant, below |
Utah | 4.6 | Statistically significant, below |
Vermont | 4.1 | Statistically significant, below |
Virginia | 5.3 | Statistically significant, below |
Washington | 6.8 | Not statistically different |
West Virginia | 6.2 | Statistically significant, below |
Wisconsin | 7.0 | Not statistically different |
Wyoming | 4.6 | Statistically significant, below |
Footnotes: |
Over the month, 6 states had statistically significant unemployment rate changes in May, of which four were declines and two were increases. The significant decreases occurred in California and West Virginia (-0.4 percentage point each) and Hawaii and New York (-0.2 point each). The increases were in Tennessee (+0.3 percentage point) and Kansas (+0.1 point).
Over the year, 15 states had statistically significant changes from May 2012, all of which were declines. The largest declines occurred in California (-2.1 percentage points) and Nevada (-2.0 points).
Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific continued to have the highest jobless rate, 8.2 percent in May. The West North Central again had the lowest rate, 5.4 percent. The Pacific had the only statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate change (-0.3 percentage point). Four divisions had significant rate changes from a year earlier: the Pacific (-1.8 percentage points), Mountain (-1.0 point), South Atlantic (-0.9 point), and Middle Atlantic (-0.8 point).
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — May 2013" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑13‑1180.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Twenty-one states had jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. rate of 7.6 percent, May 2013 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2013/ted_20130626.htm (visited December 12, 2024).