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Nebraska has lowest jobless rate among states in July 2015

August 27, 2015

Nebraska had the lowest jobless rate among states in July 2015, 2.7 percent. The historical low for Nebraska was 2.3 percent in October 1990, and the historical high was 6.3 percent in February 1983. In July 2015, West Virginia had the highest unemployment rate, 7.5 percent. West Virginia recorded a historical high of 11.3 percent in February 1983 and a historical low of 3.4 percent in August 2008.

Unemployment rates for states, seasonally adjusted, July 2015
State July 2015
unemployment rate(p)
Historical high Historical low
Date Rate Date Rate

Alabama

6.2% Dec. 1982 15.5% Apr. 2007 3.8%

Alaska

6.7 Aug. 1986 11.2 Feb. 2015 6.3

Arizona

6.1 Dec. 1982 11.5 July 2007 3.7

Arkansas

5.6 Feb. 1983 10.3 Sept. 2000 4.2

California

6.2 Oct. 2010 12.2 Dec. 2000 4.7

Colorado

4.3 Oct. 2010 8.9 Dec. 2000 2.7

Connecticut

5.4 Jan. 1976 10.0 Oct. 2000 2.2

Delaware

4.7 Dec. 1976 9.8 June 1988 3.0

District of Columbia

6.8 Sept. 1983 11.3 Sept. 1989 4.8

Florida

5.4 Jan. 2010 11.2 Apr. 2006 3.1

Georgia

6.0 Dec. 2010 10.5 Nov. 2000 3.4

Hawaii

3.7 Jan. 1976 10.4 Dec. 2006 2.4

Idaho

4.1 Dec. 1982 10.2 June 2007 2.9

Illinois

5.8 Feb. 1983 13.1 Feb. 1999 4.1

Indiana

4.7 Dec. 1982 12.6 Oct. 2000 2.9

Iowa

3.8 Jan. 1983 9.1 Mar. 2000 2.4

Kansas

4.6 Sept. 2009 7.3 Aug. 1978 2.9

Kentucky

5.2 Feb. 1983 12.1 May 2000 4.0

Louisiana

6.2 Nov. 1986 13.1 Oct. 2007 3.9

Maine

4.6 Jan. 1977 9.0 Dec. 2000 3.2

Maryland

5.2 Mar. 1982 8.5 Dec. 1999 3.3

Massachusetts

4.7 Jan. 1976 10.7 Oct. 2000 2.6

Michigan

5.3 Dec. 1982 16.5 Mar. 2000 3.2

Minnesota

4.0 Jan. 1983 8.9 Mar. 1999 2.5

Mississippi

6.5 Apr. 1983 12.8 Jan. 2001 5.0

Missouri

5.8 Apr. 1983 10.6 Jan. 2000 3.1

Montana

4.0 May 1983 8.8 Feb. 2007 2.9

Nebraska

2.7 Feb. 1983 6.3 Oct. 1990 2.3

Nevada

6.8 Nov. 2010 13.7 Jan. 1999 3.7

New Hampshire

3.7 July 1992 7.4 Mar. 1988 2.2

New Jersey

5.9 Jan. 1977 10.7 May 2000 3.5

New Mexico

6.5 Mar. 1983 10.5 Aug. 2007 3.7

New York

5.4 Jan. 1976 10.4 May 1988 4.0

North Carolina

5.9 Mar. 2010 11.3 Apr. 1999 3.0

North Dakota

3.0 Mar. 1983 6.2 Jan. 1998 2.5

Ohio

5.0 Jan. 1983 14.0 Apr. 2001 3.8

Oklahoma

4.5 Apr. 1983 8.9 Dec. 2000 2.9

Oregon

5.9 May 2009 11.9 Feb. 1995 4.7

Pennsylvania

5.4 Feb. 1983 12.7 May 2000 4.0

Rhode Island

5.8 Aug. 2009 11.3 May 1988 2.9

South Carolina

6.4 Jan. 1983 11.8 Apr. 1998 3.5

South Dakota

3.8 Jan. 1983 5.9 July 2000 2.4

Tennessee

5.7 Jan. 1983 12.9 Mar. 2000 3.7

Texas

4.2 Nov. 1986 9.2 Dec. 2000 4.0

Utah

3.6 Mar. 1983 9.6 Mar. 2007 2.3

Vermont

3.6 Feb. 1976 8.8 Mar. 2000 2.6

Virginia

4.8 Dec. 1982 7.9 Nov. 2000 2.1

Washington

5.3 Nov. 1982 12.2 June 2007 4.6

West Virginia

7.5 Feb. 1983 18.8 Aug. 2008 4.1

Wisconsin

4.6 Jan. 1983 11.9 July 1999 3.0

Wyoming

4.1 Dec. 1986 9.4 May 1979 2.5
Footnotes:

(p) = preliminary.

In July 2015, 18 states had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 5.3 percent, 10 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 22 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

From July 2014 to July 2015, 21 states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant unemployment rate declines. The largest declines occurred in Rhode Island (−1.8 percentage points) and Michigan (−1.7 points). The only significant over-the-year rate increases occurred in West Virginia (+1.0 percentage point) and South Dakota (+0.5 point).

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Historical data date back to January 1976. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — July 2015" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nebraska has lowest jobless rate among states in July 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/nebraska-has-lowest-jobless-rate-among-states-in-july-2015.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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