GlobalImprovement in the overall labor market is evident in May's 7.6% unemployment rate. That compares to 7.8% at the end of last year and 8.1% during all of 2012. Notable has been the rate's recent decline in states where it previously was sticky. Great improvement has been in California where May's 8.6% rate of unemployment is two percentage below last year's average. Washington also saw great improvement. May's 6.8% unemployment rate compared to 8.2% during all of last year. In New York, May's rate of 7.6% was roughly one full percentage point below last year's average.
The rate of labor market improvement has lagged in many large states.
In Texas, for example, while the 6.5% jobless rate is low relative to the
rest of the country, it's down just slightly from last year's 6.8%
average. In Illinois, 9.1% joblessness differs little from the 8.9%
averaged last year. In Tennessee, the current 8.3% unemployment rate is
actually above last year's 8.0% average. In smaller states, the rate of
job market improvement also varies. Nevada's 9.5% unemployment rate is
well below last year's 11.1% average but in neighboring Arizona, 7.8%
unemployment is down just modestly from last year's 8.3%.
The household employment survey also produces data on individual
metropolitan areas. These figures, in a few circumstances, differ widely
from the state numbers. Florida's 7.1% unemployment rate, for example, is
a far cry from the 9.3% in the Miami metro area. Michigan's 8.4% rate also
is under the 9.5% rate around Detroit. New York state's 7.6% rate lags the
8.3% in New York City while California's 8.6% rate is under 9.6% around
Los Angeles. Running close to one another are the Illinois unemployment
rate of 9.1% and the 9.3% rate around Chicago. Also, Ohio's 7.0%
unemployment rate is near Cleveland's of 6.9%. Working the other way,
Washington state's 6.8% jobless rate by far exceeds Seattle's 4.7%. State unemployment figures are available in Haver's EMPLR
database.
State Unemployment
Rate
May
April
2012
2011
2010
Labor Force
Total U.S.
7.6%
7.5%
8.1%
8.9%
9.6%
155.7 mil.
Ten States With Highest
Jobless Rate
Nevada
9.5
9.6
11.1
13.2
13.8
1.4
Illinois
9.1
9.3
8.9
9.7
10.4
9.6
Mississippi
9.1
9.1
9.1
10.5
10.5
1.3
North Carolina
8.8
8.9
9.5
10.3
10.8
4.7
California
8.6
9.0
10.5
11.8
12.3
18.6
New Jersey
8.6
8.7
9.5
9.3
9.6
4.6
Georgia
8.3
8.2
9.0
9.9
10.2
4.8
Indiana
8.3
8.5
8.4
9.0
10.1
3.2
Tennessee
8.3
8.0
8.0
9.3
9.8
3.1
South Carolina
8.0
8.0
9.1
10.4
11.2
2.2
States With Lowest
Jobless Rate
May
April
2012
2011
2010
Labor Force
New Hampshire
5.3%
5.5%
5.5%
5.5%
6.1%
0.7 mil.
Minnesota
5.3
5.3
5.6
6.5
7.3
3.0
Virginia
5.3
5.2
5.9
6.5
7.1
4.2
Wyoming
4.6
4.8
5.4
6.1
7.0
0.3
Utah
4.6
4.7
5.7
6.9
8.1
1.4
Iowa
4.6
4.7
5.2
5.9
6.3
1.6
Vermont
4.1
4.0
5.0
5.6
6.4
0.4
South Dakota
4.0
4.1
4.4
4.8
5.1
0.4
Nebraska
3.8
3.7
3.9
4.5
4.7
1.0
North Dakota
3.2
3.3
3.1
3.5
3.8
0.4
Jobless Rate In Other Selected
Large States
May
April
2012
2011
2010
Labor Force
Connecticut
8.0%
8.0%
8.3%
8.9%
9.3%
1.8 mil.
Arizona
7.8
7.9
8.3
9.4
10.4
3.0
New York
7.6
7.8
8.5
8.3
8.6
9.6
Florida
7.1
7.2
8.6
10.3
11.3
9.4
Wisconsin
7.0
7.1
6.9
7.6
8.4
3.1
Ohio
7.0
7.0
7.2
8.6
10.0
5.7
Colorado
6.9
6.9
8.0
8.6
9.0
2.8
Washington
6.8
7.0
8.2
9.2
9.9
3.5
Maryland
6.7
6.5
6.8
7.3
7.8
3.1
Texas
6.5
6.4
6.8
8.0
8.2
12.8
