U.S. State Unemployment Continues to Range Widely

As the unemployment rate declined last month to a 10-year low of 4.5%, it continued to reflect widely divergent rates amongst the states. At the high end were two states which realized unemployment above 6.0%. At the low end, were several states below 3.0%.

New Mexico's jobless rate topped the charts at 6.7%. It has risen from 6.4% in early-2015. Employment and labor force growth have been subdued near 1.0%. Alaska's unemployment rate also remained high at 6.4%, but it recently trended lower as employment growth picked up to 1.2% y/y after a modest decline last year. Alabama registered a high unemployment rate of 5.8%, but that was down from 6.4% in January as employment grew 2.1% y/y. In Georgia, the jobless rate fell sharply to a still-high 5.1%. Its decline has been accompanied by roughly 3.0% growth in the labor force set against 0.6% in the country overall. In Pennsylvania, unemployment of 4.8% was down from 5.4% during the last twelve months and stood at its ten-year low. Employment grew 0.7% y/y versus no growth in the labor force.

At the low end of the range in unemployment stood Colorado at 2.6%. Employment increased 2.9% during the last year while the labor force grew 2.1%. New England also experienced low unemployment. In New Hampshire, an unemployment rate of 2.8% reflected just 0.8% y/y growth in both employment and the labor force. Perhaps more dynamic were the results in Maine where a record-low jobless rate of 3.0% reflected 3.0% y/y growth in jobs accompanied by 2.2% y/y growth in the labor force. A higher 3.6% unemployment in Massachusetts reflected 2.6% y/y growth in jobs and 2.1% growth in the labor pool. Further to the west, Indiana registered 3.9% unemployment as employment grew 1.0% y/y, but the labor force was little-changed.

Amongst other large states, Ohio's 5.1% rate of unemployment reflected roughly 0.8% y/y in both jobs & the size of the labor force. Texas unemployment at 5.0% occurred as employment grew 1.9% y/y and the labor force expanded 2.4% y/y. Similarly, North Carolina's 4.9% unemployment reflected 2.4% y/y growth in employment and a 2.2% rise in the labor force. At the low end of the range amongst large states was Wisconsin which experienced 3.4% unemployment as employment rose 1.5% y/y, twice the growth in the labor force.

Within large cities, New York City's jobless rate plummeted to 4.0% from a 2009 high of 10.2%, reflecting 2.7% employment growth this past year, and a 1.5% y/y gain in the labor force. Unemployment in New York state was a slightly higher 4.3%, down from a 2009 high of 8.9%. Unemployment around Chicago at 4.6% is down from a 2010 high of 11.4%, compared to 4.9% in all of Illinois. The city's low jobless rate reflected, however, employment that was little changed this past year set against a 1.6% y/y decline in the labor force. California's 4.9% unemployment rate slightly exceeded the 4.6% rate around Los Angeles where employment grew 2.0% y/y and the labor force expanded 1.2%. In Washington State, 4.7% unemployment compared to 3.3% around Seattle where a 3.7% y/y gain in employment was accompanied by a 2.6% rise in the laborforce.

State unemployment figures are available in Haver's EMPLR database.