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Unemployment rates down over the year in 14 states, unchanged in 36 states and District of Columbia

January 24, 2019

In December 2018, unemployment rates were lower than a year earlier in 14 states and unchanged in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate, at 3.9 percent in December 2018, declined by 0.2 percentage point over the year.

Unemployment rates by state, seasonally adjusted, December 2018
State December 2018 (p) December 2017 Over-the-year change (p) Statistically significant?

New Mexico

4.7% 6.0% -1.3 percentage point(s) Yes

Alaska

6.3 7.2 -0.9 Yes

Georgia

3.6 4.5 -0.9 Yes

North Carolina

3.6 4.5 -0.9 Yes

Oklahoma

3.2 4.1 -0.9 Yes

South Carolina

3.3 4.2 -0.9 Yes

Delaware

3.7 4.5 -0.8 Yes

New York

3.9 4.7 -0.8 Yes

Virginia

2.8 3.6 -0.8 Yes

Michigan

4.0 4.7 -0.7 No

New Jersey

4.0 4.7 -0.7 Yes

Florida

3.3 3.9 -0.6 Yes

Illinois

4.3 4.9 -0.6 No

Missouri

3.1 3.7 -0.6 No

Pennsylvania

4.2 4.8 -0.6 No

Rhode Island

3.9 4.5 -0.6 No

Connecticut

4.0 4.5 -0.5 No

Iowa

2.4 2.9 -0.5 Yes

Minnesota

2.8 3.3 -0.5 No

Nevada

4.4 4.9 -0.5 No

South Dakota

2.9 3.4 -0.5 Yes

District of Columbia

5.5 5.9 -0.4 No

Idaho

2.6 3.0 -0.4 No

Montana

3.7 4.1 -0.4 No

Washington

4.3 4.7 -0.4 No

California

4.2 4.5 -0.3 Yes

Ohio

4.6 4.9 -0.3 No

Texas

3.7 4.0 -0.3 No

West Virginia

5.1 5.4 -0.3 No

Kansas

3.3 3.5 -0.2 No

Maryland

3.9 4.1 -0.2 No

Massachusetts

3.3 3.5 -0.2 No

Vermont

2.7 2.9 -0.2 No

Wisconsin

3.0 3.2 -0.2 No

Arkansas

3.6 3.7 -0.1 No

Kentucky

4.4 4.5 -0.1 No

Mississippi

4.7 4.8 -0.1 No

Nebraska

2.8 2.9 -0.1 No

New Hampshire

2.5 2.6 -0.1 No

Oregon

4.1 4.1 0.0 No

Utah

3.2 3.2 0.0 No

Wyoming

4.1 4.1 0.0 No

Alabama

3.9 3.8 0.1 No

Arizona

4.8 4.7 0.1 No

North Dakota

2.7 2.6 0.1 No

Indiana

3.6 3.4 0.2 No

Louisiana

4.9 4.7 0.2 No

Maine

3.4 3.1 0.3 No

Tennessee

3.6 3.3 0.3 No

Hawaii

2.5 2.1 0.4 No

Colorado

3.5 3.0 0.5 No
Footnotes:

(p) Preliminary.

The largest over-the-year decline in the jobless rate occurred in New Mexico (–1.3 percentage points); five other states had over-the-year declines of 0.9 percentage point: Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

Iowa had the lowest unemployment rate in December (2.4 percent), while Alaska had the highest jobless rate (6.3 percent). In total, 16 states had unemployment rates that were lower than the U.S. figure of 3.9 percent, 8 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 26 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force. Data refer to place of residence. To learn more, see “State Employment and Unemployment — December 2018.” For more charts and tables related to state employment and unemployment, see the state chart package.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rates down over the year in 14 states, unchanged in 36 states and District of Columbia at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/unemployment-rates-down-over-the-year-in-14-states-unchanged-in-36-states-and-district-of-columbia.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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