Global| Apr 22 2014U.S. State Unemployment Rates Continue Downward
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The overall U.S. unemployment rate declined last month to 6.7% from 10.0% at its late-2009 peak. Falling jobless rates occurred throughout the country, but there was great variation amongst individual states. The country's largest [...]
The overall U.S. unemployment rate declined last month to 6.7% from 10.0% at its late-2009 peak. Falling jobless rates occurred throughout the country, but there was great variation amongst individual states. The country's largest states realized great improvement in labor market conditions. California's comparatively high 8.1% jobless rate was sharply below the 2010 high of 12.3%. Unemployment in Illinois of 8.4% also was comparatively high, but down from the peak of 11.4%. The jobless rate in Texas was down to 5.5% from its 2010 high of 8.3%. In Tennessee, last month's 6.7% rate compared to the 2009 high of 11.0%. New York's unemployment rate of 6.9% compared to the 2009 peak of 8.9%.
Amongst mid-sized states, Michigan showed perhaps the greatest degree of lessened joblessness in the country. The 7.5% rate was down a full percentage point in the last four months, and stood at nearly half the 14.2% peak in 2009. Florida's 6.3% rate of joblessness compared to 11.4% at the 2009 peak and Virginia at 5.0% was below the 7.4% peak. Amongst smaller states, Vermont's 3.4% unemployment rate compared to a high of 7.2% while Connecticut saw its rate fall to 7.0% from 9.5%. North Dakota's rate at 2.6% stood lower than the 2009 high of 4.2% and Nebraska's fell to 3.7% from the 4.9% peak.
The unemployment rate figures in individual metropolitan areas continued, in most circumstances, to differ widely from the state numbers. Florida's 6.3% unemployment rate was well below the 7.3% in the Miami metro area, although Miami's rate was down from 12.4% in 2010. Michigan's 7.5% jobless rate also was under the 8.1% jobless rate around Detroit. In 2009 it reached 16.0%. New York state's 6.9% unemployment rate stood below the 8.0% in New York City while California's 8.1% rate was under the 8.7% around Los Angeles. Also, Ohio's 6.1% rate was well below Cleveland's of 7.3%. Close to one another were the Illinois unemployment rate of 8.4% and the 8.2% rate around Chicago. Working the other way were Washington state's 6.3% jobless rate which exceeded Seattle's 5.2%.
State unemployment figures are available in Haver's EMPLR database.
| Mar | Feb | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | Labor Force | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total U.S. Unemployment Rate |
6.7% | 6.7% | 7.4% | 8.1% | 8.9% | 155.7 million |
|
Ten States With Highest Jobless Rate |
||||||
| Nevada | 8.5 | 8.5 | 9.8 | 11.5 | 13.3 | 1.4 |
| Illinois | 8.4 | 8.7 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.7 | 9.6 |
| California | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 10.4 | 11.8 | 18.6 |
| Mississippi | 7.6 | 7.4 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 10.6 | 1.3 |
| Michigan | 7.5 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 10.4 | 4.7 |
| New Jersey | 7.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 9.3 | 4.6 |
| Tennessee | 6.7 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 9.3 | 3.1 |
| North Carolina | 6.3 | 6.4 | 8.0 | 9.3 | 10.2 | 4.7 |
| Indiana | 5.9 | 6.1 | 7.5 | 8.1 | 8.8 | 3.2 |
| Ten States With Lowest Jobless Rate | ||||||
| Virginia | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.5 | 4.2 million |
| Minnesota | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 3.0 |
| New Hampshire | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 0.7 |
| Hawaii | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 0.7 |
| Iowa | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 1.6 |
| Utah | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 6.8 | 1.4 |
| Wyoming | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 0.3 |
| Nebraska | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 1.0 |
| Vermont | 3.4 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.9 | 5.6 | 0.4 |
| North Dakota | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 0.4 |
| Jobless Rate In Other Selected Large States | ||||||
| Arizona | 7.3 | 7.3 | 8.0 | 8.3 | 9.4 | 3.0 million |
| Connecticut | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 8.9 | 1.8 |
| New York | 6.9 | 6.8 | 7.7 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 9.6 |
| Massachusetts | 6.3 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 3.5 |
| Florida | 6.3 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 8.8 | 10.3 | 9.4 |
| Washington | 6.3 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 8.1 | 9.2 | 3.5 |
| Ohio | 6.1 | 6.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.7 | 5.7 |
| Wisconsin | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 7.5 | 3.1 |
| Texas | 5.7 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 7.9 | 12.8 |
| Louisiana | 4.5 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 7.2 | 2.1 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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