For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 22, 2010 USDL-10-0068
Technical information:
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REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- DECEMBER 2009
Regional and state unemployment rates were generally higher in
December. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia recorded
over-the-month unemployment rate increases, four states registered
rate decreases, and three states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates
increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national
unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 10.0 percent but was
2.6 percentage points higher than a year earlier.
In December, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 11 states and
the District of Columbia and decreased in 39 states. The largest over-
the-month increase in employment occurred in Virginia (+9,500), fol-
lowed by Oklahoma (+5,000), Oregon (+2,900), New Hampshire and Wash-
ington (+2,000 each). New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Virginia experi-
enced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment
(+0.3 percent each), followed by the District of Columbia, Hawaii,
and Oregon (+0.2 percent each). The largest over-the-month decrease
in employment occurred in California (-38,800), followed by Texas
(-23,900), Ohio (-16,700), Illinois (-16,300), Michigan (-15,700),
Wisconsin (-15,200), and Georgia (-15,100). Montana (-1.5 percent)
experienced the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employ-
ment, followed by Nevada (-1.0 percent), Iowa and South Dakota
(-0.9 percent each), and Vermont (-0.8 percent). Over the year, non-
farm employment decreased in all 50 states but increased in the
District of Columbia. The largest over-the-year percentage decreases
occurred in Wyoming (-6.8 percent), Nevada (-6.6 percent), Michigan
(-5.1 percent), and Arizona (-4.8 percent).
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
The West had the highest regional jobless rate in December, 10.7 per-
cent. The Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 9.2 percent. The North-
east had a statistically significant rate increase over the month
(+0.5 percentage point). The South had the only other significant re-
gional rate change (+0.3 percentage point). Over the year, all four
regions registered significant rate increases, the largest of which
was in the West (+3.3 percentage points). (See table 1.)
Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific continued to report
the highest jobless rate, 11.7 percent in December. The East North
Central recorded the next highest rate, 11.3 percent. The West North
Central registered the lowest December jobless rate, 7.3 percent,
followed by the West South Central, 8.0 percent. The South Atlantic
rate (10.3 percent) set a new series high. (All region, division, and
state series begin in 1976.) Five divisions experienced statistically
significant unemployment rate increases from a month earlier, the larg-
est of which were in East South Central and New England (+0.5 per-
centage point each). No division had a rate decrease. All nine divi-
sions reported significant over-the-year rate increases of at least
1.8 percentage points. The largest of these occurred in the East South
Central (+3.8 percentage points) and East North Central (+3.7 points).
State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Michigan again recorded the highest unemployment rate among the
states, 14.6 percent in December. The states with the next highest
rates were Nevada, 13.0 percent; Rhode Island, 12.9 percent; and South
Carolina, 12.6 percent. North Dakota continued to register the lowest
jobless rate, 4.4 percent in December, followed by Nebraska and South
Dakota, 4.7 percent each. The rate in South Carolina set a new series
high, as did the rates in three other states: Delaware (9.0 percent),
Florida (11.8 percent), and North Carolina (11.2 percent). The rate in
the District of Columbia also set a new series high (12.1 percent).
In total, 27 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the
U.S. figure of 10.0 percent, 10 states and the District of Columbia
had measurably higher rates, and 13 states had rates that were not ap-
preciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)
Twenty-one states reported statistically significant over-the-month
unemployment rate increases in December. Louisiana and Mississippi
experienced the largest of these (+0.8 percentage point each). One
state, South Dakota, saw a statistically significant rate decrease
from November (-0.2 percentage point). The remaining 28 states and
the District of Columbia registered jobless rates that were not
appreciably different from those of a month earlier, though some
had changes that were at least as large numerically as the signifi-
cant changes. (See table B.)
All states and the District of Columbia recorded statistically sig-
nificant increases in their jobless rates from December 2008. The
largest of these increases were in Nevada and West Virginia (+4.6
percentage points each), closely followed by Alabama (+4.5 points)
and Michigan (+4.4 points). The smallest rate increases occurred in
Minnesota and Nebraska (+0.8 percentage point each). (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In December, 13 states experienced statistically significant over-the-
month changes in employment, all of which were decreases. The largest
statistically significant job losses occurred in California (-38,800),
Ohio (-16,700), and Illinois (-16,300). The smallest statistically
significant decreases in employment occurred in Vermont (-2,400),
South Dakota (-3,600), and Montana (-6,400). (See tables D and 5.)
Over the year, 44 states experienced statistically significant changes
in employment, all of which were decreases. The largest statistically
significant job losses occurred in California (-579,400), Texas
(-276,000), Illinois (-237,300), Florida (-232,400), and Michigan
(-207,100). The smallest statistically significant decreases in employ-
ment occurred in South Dakota (-10,900), Delaware (-12,100), and Montana
(-13,700). (See table E.)
____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for
December 2009 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 2, 2010,
at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Regional and State Unemployment 2009 Annual
Averages news release is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 26,
2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Regional and State Employment and Un-
employment news release for January is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
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| |
| Upcoming Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of 2009 annual average estimates on |
| February 26, the labor force data for regions, divisions, states,|
| the District of Columbia, and the modeled sub-state areas pre- |
| sented in tables 1-4 of this news release will be revised to in- |
| corporate updated inputs, updated population controls, reesti- |
| mation of models, and adjustment to new division and national |
| control totals. The updated population controls reflect the an- |
| nual updating of population estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau. |
| |
| In addition, the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program will |
| introduce a long-run trend smoothing procedure to its seasonally |
| adjusted data series back to January 1976. The smoothing pro- |
| cedure reduces month-to-month volatility in the estimates and |
| addresses long-standing issues related to end-of-year revisions |
| that will enhance the analytical capability of the estimates. |
| For more information about this topic, please see the questions |
| and answers on our website at www.bls.gov/lau/lassaqa.htm. |
| |
| Revised seasonal adjustment factors will apply to tables 1 and 3 |
| only. Not seasonally adjusted data are subject to revision back |
| to 2005. |
| |
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------------------------------------------------------------------
| Upcoming Changes to Current Employment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2010 estimates, all non- |
| farm payroll employment estimates for states and areas pre- |
| sented in tables 5 and 6 of this news release will be adjusted |
| to 2009 benchmark levels. Data in table 5 will be adjusted to |
| incorporate new seasonal adjustment factors. A common start |
| year of 1990 for seasonally adjusted series will also be imple- |
| mented with the 2010 benchmark. As a result, seasonally adjusted |
| series will be subject to revision from 1990 forward. Not sea- |
| sonally adjusted payroll data back to April 2008 also will be |
| subject to revision. |
| |
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Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly differ-
ent from that of the U.S., December 2009, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 10.0
|
Alaska ..............................| 8.8
Arkansas ............................| 7.7
California ..........................| 12.4
Colorado ............................| 7.5
Connecticut .........................| 8.9
Delaware ............................| 9.0
District of Columbia ................| 12.1
Florida .............................| 11.8
Hawaii ..............................| 6.9
Illinois ............................| 11.1
|
Iowa ................................| 6.6
Kansas ..............................| 6.6
Louisiana ...........................| 7.5
Maine ...............................| 8.3
Maryland ............................| 7.5
Michigan ............................| 14.6
Minnesota ...........................| 7.4
Montana .............................| 6.7
Nebraska ............................| 4.7
Nevada ..............................| 13.0
|
New Hampshire .......................| 7.0
New Mexico ..........................| 8.3
New York ............................| 9.0
North Carolina ......................| 11.2
North Dakota ........................| 4.4
Ohio ................................| 10.9
Oklahoma ............................| 6.6
Oregon ..............................| 11.0
Pennsylvania ........................| 8.9
Rhode Island ........................| 12.9
|
South Carolina ......................| 12.6
South Dakota ........................| 4.7
Texas ...............................| 8.3
Utah ................................| 6.7
Vermont .............................| 6.9
Virginia ............................| 6.9
Wisconsin ...........................| 8.7
Wyoming .............................| 7.5
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Data are not preliminary.
p = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from November 2009 to December 2009, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | November | December | rate change(p)
| 2009 | 2009(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado .......................| 6.9 | 7.5 | 0.6
Connecticut ....................| 8.2 | 8.9 | .7
Delaware .......................| 8.6 | 9.0 | .4
Florida ........................| 11.5 | 11.8 | .3
Louisiana ......................| 6.7 | 7.5 | .8
Massachusetts ..................| 8.7 | 9.4 | .7
Mississippi ....................| 9.8 | 10.6 | .8
Montana ........................| 6.4 | 6.7 | .3
New Mexico .....................| 7.8 | 8.3 | .5
New York .......................| 8.6 | 9.0 | .4
| | |
North Carolina .................| 10.7 | 11.2 | .5
North Dakota ...................| 4.1 | 4.4 | .3
Pennsylvania ...................| 8.5 | 8.9 | .4
South Dakota ...................| 4.8 | 4.7 | -.2
Tennessee ......................| 10.2 | 10.9 | .7
Texas ..........................| 8.0 | 8.3 | .3
Utah ...........................| 6.3 | 6.7 | .4
Vermont ........................| 6.4 | 6.9 | .5
Virginia .......................| 6.6 | 6.9 | .3
Washington .....................| 9.0 | 9.5 | .5
West Virginia ..................| 8.4 | 9.1 | .7
Wisconsin ......................| 8.2 | 8.7 | .5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from December 2008 to December 2009, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | December | December | rate change(p)
| 2008 | 2009(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 6.5 | 11.0 | 4.5
Alaska .........................| 6.8 | 8.8 | 2.0
Arizona ........................| 6.6 | 9.1 | 2.5
Arkansas .......................| 5.7 | 7.7 | 2.0
California .....................| 8.7 | 12.4 | 3.7
Colorado .......................| 5.8 | 7.5 | 1.7
Connecticut ....................| 6.6 | 8.9 | 2.3
Delaware .......................| 5.7 | 9.0 | 3.3
District of Columbia ...........| 8.2 | 12.1 | 3.9
Florida ........................| 7.6 | 11.8 | 4.2
| | |
Georgia ........................| 7.5 | 10.3 | 2.8
Hawaii .........................| 5.1 | 6.9 | 1.8
Idaho ..........................| 6.1 | 9.1 | 3.0
Illinois .......................| 7.2 | 11.1 | 3.9
Indiana ........................| 7.8 | 9.9 | 2.1
Iowa ...........................| 4.4 | 6.6 | 2.2
Kansas .........................| 5.0 | 6.6 | 1.6
Kentucky .......................| 7.6 | 10.7 | 3.1
Louisiana ......................| 5.5 | 7.5 | 2.0
Maine ..........................| 6.5 | 8.3 | 1.8
| | |
Maryland .......................| 5.4 | 7.5 | 2.1
Massachusetts ..................| 6.4 | 9.4 | 3.0
Michigan .......................| 10.2 | 14.6 | 4.4
Minnesota ......................| 6.6 | 7.4 | .8
Mississippi ....................| 7.8 | 10.6 | 2.8
Missouri .......................| 7.1 | 9.6 | 2.5
Montana ........................| 5.0 | 6.7 | 1.7
Nebraska .......................| 3.9 | 4.7 | .8
Nevada .........................| 8.4 | 13.0 | 4.6
New Hampshire ..................| 4.3 | 7.0 | 2.7
| | |
New Jersey .....................| 6.8 | 10.1 | 3.3
New Mexico .....................| 4.7 | 8.3 | 3.6
New York .......................| 6.6 | 9.0 | 2.4
North Carolina .................| 8.1 | 11.2 | 3.1
North Dakota ...................| 3.3 | 4.4 | 1.1
Ohio ...........................| 7.4 | 10.9 | 3.5
Oklahoma .......................| 4.6 | 6.6 | 2.0
Oregon .........................| 8.3 | 11.0 | 2.7
Pennsylvania ...................| 6.4 | 8.9 | 2.5
Rhode Island ...................| 9.4 | 12.9 | 3.5
| | |
South Carolina .................| 8.8 | 12.6 | 3.8
South Dakota ...................| 3.7 | 4.7 | 1.0
Tennessee ......................| 7.6 | 10.9 | 3.3
Texas ..........................| 5.6 | 8.3 | 2.7
Utah ...........................| 4.1 | 6.7 | 2.6
Vermont ........................| 5.9 | 6.9 | 1.0
Virginia .......................| 5.0 | 6.9 | 1.9
Washington .....................| 6.5 | 9.5 | 3.0
West Virginia ..................| 4.5 | 9.1 | 4.6
Wisconsin ......................| 5.9 | 8.7 | 2.8
Wyoming ........................| 3.2 | 7.5 | 4.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
November 2009 to December 2009, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| November | December | Over-the-month
State | 2009 | 2009(p) | change(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.......................| 1,898,900 | 1,888,500 | -10,400
California....................| 14,186,800 | 14,148,000 | -38,800
Georgia.......................| 3,854,800 | 3,839,700 | -15,100
Illinois......................| 5,628,500 | 5,612,200 | -16,300
Iowa..........................| 1,482,000 | 1,468,800 | -13,200
Michigan......................| 3,846,700 | 3,831,000 | -15,700
Montana.......................| 437,400 | 431,000 | -6,400
Nevada........................| 1,166,200 | 1,154,600 | -11,600
Ohio..........................| 5,103,600 | 5,086,900 | -16,700
South Dakota..................| 404,100 | 400,500 | -3,600
| | |
Tennessee.....................| 2,646,600 | 2,636,700 | -9,900
Vermont.......................| 294,600 | 292,200 | -2,400
Wisconsin.....................| 2,727,500 | 2,712,300 | -15,200
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
December 2008 to December 2009, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| December | December | Over-the-year
State | 2008 | 2009(p) | change(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.......................| 1,953,500 | 1,888,500 | -65,000
Arizona.......................| 2,534,100 | 2,412,000 | -122,100
California....................| 14,727,400 | 14,148,000 | -579,400
Colorado......................| 2,320,600 | 2,234,000 | -86,600
Connecticut...................| 1,673,900 | 1,614,900 | -59,000
Delaware......................| 421,900 | 409,800 | -12,100
Florida.......................| 7,576,100 | 7,343,700 | -232,400
Georgia.......................| 4,013,600 | 3,839,700 | -173,900
Hawaii........................| 609,400 | 586,100 | -23,300
Illinois......................| 5,849,500 | 5,612,200 | -237,300
| | |
Indiana.......................| 2,899,400 | 2,796,300 | -103,100
Iowa..........................| 1,508,900 | 1,468,800 | -40,100
Kansas........................| 1,389,600 | 1,329,900 | -59,700
Kentucky......................| 1,823,800 | 1,764,500 | -59,300
Louisiana.....................| 1,948,600 | 1,901,700 | -46,900
Maine.........................| 604,800 | 588,800 | -16,000
Maryland......................| 2,568,400 | 2,524,000 | -44,400
Massachusetts.................| 3,230,200 | 3,164,000 | -66,200
Michigan......................| 4,038,100 | 3,831,000 | -207,100
Minnesota.....................| 2,722,300 | 2,642,400 | -79,900
| | |
Mississippi...................| 1,127,200 | 1,101,400 | -25,800
Missouri......................| 2,770,900 | 2,708,300 | -62,600
Montana.......................| 444,700 | 431,000 | -13,700
Nebraska......................| 963,700 | 938,300 | -25,400
Nevada........................| 1,235,600 | 1,154,600 | -81,000
New Jersey....................| 4,000,500 | 3,910,400 | -90,100
New Mexico....................| 843,100 | 817,100 | -26,000
New York......................| 8,713,500 | 8,544,900 | -168,600
North Carolina................| 4,048,200 | 3,924,000 | -124,200
Ohio..........................| 5,271,800 | 5,086,900 | -184,900
| | |
Oklahoma......................| 1,595,600 | 1,558,900 | -36,700
Oregon........................| 1,689,600 | 1,617,200 | -72,400
Pennsylvania..................| 5,749,200 | 5,598,900 | -150,300
Rhode Island..................| 471,200 | 453,800 | -17,400
South Carolina................| 1,884,100 | 1,846,400 | -37,700
South Dakota..................| 411,400 | 400,500 | -10,900
Tennessee.....................| 2,726,100 | 2,636,700 | -89,400
Texas.........................| 10,631,300 | 10,355,300 | -276,000
Utah..........................| 1,246,700 | 1,200,100 | -46,600
Virginia......................| 3,711,200 | 3,656,500 | -54,700
| | |
Washington....................| 2,923,700 | 2,834,900 | -88,800
West Virginia.................| 757,400 | 738,500 | -18,900
Wisconsin.....................| 2,832,800 | 2,712,300 | -120,500
Wyoming.......................| 303,100 | 282,400 | -20,700
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
