Global| Dec 19 2016U.S. State Unemployment Rates Vary Widely
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The decline in the overall unemployment rate to 4.5% during November reflects a range of state unemployment rates from a high of 6.8% in Alaska to a 2.7% low in South Dakota. The unemployment rate in Alaska continued to top the chart [...]
The decline in the overall unemployment rate to 4.5% during November reflects a range of state unemployment rates from a high of 6.8% in Alaska to a 2.7% low in South Dakota.
The unemployment rate in Alaska continued to top the chart at 6.8% versus 6.5% during all of last year. The level of unemployment has risen 1.8% during the last twelve months versus a 6.6% decline in the country overall. Louisiana also registered a high unemployment rate at 6.2%, about where it's been for three years. Unemployment has risen 4.5% y/y. Two other states at the high end of the scale were West Virginia at 6.0% and Pennsylvania at 5.7%. Employment in the Keystone state rose just 0.4% y/y.
At the bottom of the state unemployment tally were small states including South Dakota at 2.7%, even though it had just 0.9% y/y employment growth. Hawaii similarly had a low jobless rate at 3.0%, reflecting 2.8% growth in employment. Colorado's low 3.2% unemployment rate brought with it 3.6% jobs growth. Another large state with low unemployment was Minnesota at 3.8%, but employment declined 1.4% y/y. The labor force similarly fell 1.3% y/y. Finally, Virginia's low 4.2% jobless rate brought with it just a 0.5% y/y rise in the number of jobs.
Unemployment amongst other states similarly varied greatly. Unemployment in New Jersey at 5.0% remained up from its low of 4.3% in February, as employment dipped 0.2% y/y. New York's unemployment rate of 5.1% was up from a 4.7% low, and employment has declined 1.0% y/y. In New York City, the jobless rate stood at 5.7%, reflecting a 1.9% y/y decline in employment. On the bright side of the unemployment spectrum was Massachusetts where its jobless rate of 2.9% was down from 8.8% in January 2010. Employment has risen 3.3% y/y.
Within large cities, unemployment in and around Los Angeles of 5.1% was below the state's average of 5.3% due to 4.3% growth in employment. Around Chicago, the jobless rate of 5.8% compared to Illinois' average of 5.6%, but employment grew just 0.8% y/y. In Washington, unemployment stood at 5.3%. Around Seattle, the low 3.7% unemployment rate was down from 9.4% during all of 2010, as employment grew 3.9% y/y. Michigan experienced 4.9% unemployment, but it was 5.6% around Detroit where employment declined 2.8% y/y.
State unemployment figures are available in Haver's EMPLR database.
A Healthy Labor Market Still Includes Many Puzzles from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is available here.
| Nov | Oct | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | Labor Force | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total U.S. Unemployment Rate (%) |
4.6% | 4.9% | 5.3 | 6.2 | 7.4% | 159.5 million |
|
Ten States With Highest Jobless Rate |
||||||
| Alaska | 6.8 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 5.9 | 0.4 |
| Louisiana | 6.2 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 2.1 |
| West Virginia | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.7 | 0.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 5.7 | 5.8 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 7.1 | 6.5 |
| Illinois | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 6.6 |
| Washington | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 6.9 | 3.7 |
| California | 5.3 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 8.8 | 19.5 |
| Arizona | 5.0 | 5.2 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 7.5 | 3.3 |
| South Carolina | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 2.3 |
| Connecticut | 4.7 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 7.7 | 1.9 |
| Ten States With Lowest Jobless Rate | ||||||
| Virginia | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 5.6 | 4.3 |
| Arkansas | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 1.3 |
| Maine | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 | 5.6 | 6.6 | 0.7 |
| Iowa | 3.8 | 4.1 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.7 | 1.7 |
| Minnesota | 3.8 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 4.1 | 4.8 | 3.0 |
| Nebraska | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 1.0 |
| Colorado | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 6.7 | 2.9 |
| Hawaii | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.4 | 4.9 | 0.7 |
| Massachusetts | 2.9 | 3.3 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 6.6 | 3.6 |
| South Dakota | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 0.5 |
| Jobless Rate In Other Selected Large States | ||||||
| Georgia | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 4.9 |
| New York | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 9.6 |
| New Jersey | 5.0 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 8.1 | 4.6 |
| North Carolina | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 6.2 | 7.8 | 4.8 |
| Ohio | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 7.3 | 5.7 |
| Michigan | 4.9 | 4.7 | 5.4 | 7.1 | 8.5 | 4.7 |
| Florida | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 7.0 | 9.8 |
| Texas | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.0 | 6.1 | 13.0 |
| Wisconsin | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.6 | 5.4 | 6.6 | 3.1 |
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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