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News from EPI Long-term trends show states continuing to add jobs

The State and Regional Employment report for September, released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows continued job gains in most states with 15 states experiencing job losses. In 40 states, the unemployment rate either decreased or remained the same.

“Upward revisions in August’s numbers, as well as the impact of Hurricane Florence, make it especially important to take these month-over-month changes with a grain of salt,” said EPI economic analyst Jessica Schieder. “Taking a longer view, we continue to see job growth in the vast majority of states in the three-month, six-month, and year-over-year numbers, although wage growth continues to lag.”

From June to September, 40 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with Arizona (1.3 percent), Nevada (1.0 percent), Georgia (0.9 percent), New Mexico (0.9 percent), and Utah (0.9 percent) having the highest percent change in job growth. Over the last three months, the number of jobs fell in seven states, with the largest drops occurring in Vermont (-1.0 percent), South Carolina (-0.6 percent), Alaska (-0.3 percent), and North Carolina (-0.3 percent). In Kansas, Louisiana, and Illinois, the number of jobs was essentially unchanged.

From June to September, unemployment rates fell in 31 states. Alaska (-0.6 percentage points) and South Carolina (-0.5 percentage points) saw the largest declines in unemployment rates. The unemployment rate increased in 16 states and the District of Columbia. The largest increases in unemployment rates occurred in Colorado (0.4 percentage points), Maine (0.4 percentage points), and Wyoming (0.4 percentage points).

September

Current state unemployment rate and percent change in total number of jobs over last 12 months

State Current unemployment rate Change in unemployment rate in last 3 months Change in unemployment rate in last 12 months Change in unemployment rate since February 2020 State unemployment rate raking from lowest to highest Percent change in number of jobs in last 12 months Change in number of jobs in last 12 months Percent change in numbers of jobs in last 3 months Change in number of jobs in last 3 months Percent change in number of jobs since February 2020 Change in number of jobs since February 2020
Alabama 2.5% -0.1% -0.1% -0.9% 6 2.0% 41500 0.4% 8800 2.5% 51600
Alaska 3.8% 0.1% -0.9% -1.4% 37 3.1% 9700 0.6% 1900 -1.0% -3200
Arizona 3.7% -0.3% 0.1% -1.3% 35 2.6% 78800 0.8% 23900 5.1% 151600
Arkansas 3.2% -0.3% 0.0% -0.4% 25 2.5% 32500 0.4% 6000 4.5% 58400
California 4.3% 0.2% -0.4% 0.2% 44 2.8% 486500 0.4% 79700 1.6% 277700
Colorado 2.9% 0.1% -0.7% 0.1% 17 1.6% 46700 0.4% 11000 2.4% 68100
Connecticut 4.0% 0.0% -0.6% 0.6% 41 1.7% 28700 0.8% 12900 -0.7% -11500
Delaware 4.6% -0.1% 0.1% 0.9% 48 2.3% 10800 0.6% 2900 2.3% 10800
Washington D.C. 4.7% 0.5% -0.9% -0.7% 50 1.7% 13000 0.1% 900 -4.3% -34600
Florida 2.6% -0.1% -0.7% -0.1% 9 4.6% 427400 1.0% 100200 6.7% 606400
Georgia 3.1% 0.0% 0.1% -0.5% 22 2.8% 135100 0.6% 27100 4.5% 209400
Hawaii 3.6% -0.1% 0.4% 1.4% 31 4.0% 24400 0.7% 4300 -4.6% -30400
Idaho 2.6% -0.2% 0.0% -0.4% 8 3.0% 24900 1.1% 9200 9.2% 70900
Illinois 4.5% -0.1% -0.1% 0.7% 46 2.4% 144900 0.3% 18200 -0.5% -30000
Indiana 3.1% -0.1% 0.3% -0.3% 21 2.3% 73600 0.3% 8200 2.2% 69500
Iowa 2.9% -0.2% 0.4% 0.3% 16 1.5% 22800 0.6% 9100 0.0% -200
Kansas 2.9% 0.0% 0.5% -0.2% 15 2.9% 41300 0.5% 7200 1.3% 18500
Kentucky 3.9% 0.0% 0.0% -0.2% 39 2.2% 43000 0.8% 15700 1.7% 32500
Louisiana 3.6% 0.0% -0.3% -1.6% 30 1.9% 35500 0.6% 11600 -2.4% -47300
Maine 2.8% -0.3% -0.4% 0.0% 13 2.0% 12500 0.2% 1400 1.0% 6700
Maryland 2.9% -0.2% -0.5% -1.3% 14 0.7% 18200 0.3% 7200 -2.0% -56700
Massachusetts 3.7% 0.0% -0.2% 0.8% 34 2.5% 91700 0.4% 15700 -0.1% -4300
Michigan 4.3% -0.1% 0.1% 0.5% 43 2.1% 91700 0.6% 27000 -0.8% -36300
Minnesota 3.0% 0.0% 0.4% -0.9% 19 2.5% 73600 0.6% 16800 -0.4% -12500
Mississippi 3.7% -0.4% -0.3% -2.0% 33 1.5% 17600 0.5% 6400 1.5% 17300
Missouri 2.6% -0.1% -0.1% -0.7% 7 2.0% 58000 0.2% 4900 1.3% 36600
Montana 2.4% -0.3% -0.1% -1.3% 5 2.5% 12600 0.9% 4800 5.9% 28800
Nebraska 2.3% -0.4% 0.3% -0.7% 3 2.1% 21700 0.6% 6200 1.0% 10500
Nevada 5.5% 0.0% 0.2% 1.5% 51 5.1% 74700 0.9% 13200 6.1% 88100
New Hampshire 2.7% -0.2% 0.5% 0.0% 11 2.7% 18400 0.8% 5600 1.5% 10100
New Jersey 3.5% 0.2% -1.1% 0.0% 27 2.5% 105400 0.7% 29700 2.2% 93000
New Mexico 3.6% 0.1% -1.4% -1.8% 29 2.6% 22100 0.9% 7300 0.1% 1100
New York 4.2% 0.1% -0.5% 0.3% 42 2.9% 269400 0.6% 54500 -1.6% -161500
North Carolina 3.6% -0.3% 0.2% -0.1% 28 3.0% 144100 0.8% 39100 5.7% 264200
North Dakota 2.1% 0.0% -0.1% -0.1% 2 2.5% 10500 0.9% 3900 -1.5% -6400
Ohio 3.9% -0.2% -0.1% -0.7% 38 1.4% 77800 0.4% 21800 -0.7% -38300
Oklahoma 3.0% -0.2% 0.2% -0.2% 18 2.7% 45400 0.5% 8300 1.5% 25300
Oregon 4.7% -0.1% 1.0% 1.3% 49 3.0% 58800 0.8% 15100 0.9% 17400
Pennsylvania 4.4% 0.0% 0.0% -0.6% 45 2.8% 164800 0.7% 41500 0.0% -1300
Rhode Island 3.1% -0.2% -0.1% -0.6% 20 1.9% 9400 0.6% 3100 -1.3% -6800
South Carolina 3.2% -0.1% -0.1% 0.3% 24 2.4% 53900 0.7% 15800 3.7% 80300
South Dakota 2.1% -0.1% 0.2% -0.5% 1 2.3% 10500 0.5% 2500 3.8% 16700
Tennessee 3.5% 0.0% 0.1% -0.1% 26 3.2% 103300 0.7% 23300 5.0% 156700
Texas 4.0% 0.2% -0.1% 0.5% 40 4.6% 611400 1.1% 144100 6.7% 865700
Utah 2.4% 0.0% 0.2% -0.2% 4 3.2% 52600 1.0% 16600 8.8% 137800
Vermont 2.8% -0.3% 0.4% 0.2% 12 2.2% 6500 1.2% 3600 -2.6% -8200
Virginia 3.2% 0.0% 0.3% 0.5% 23 2.4% 96100 0.6% 22900 0.9% 38500
Washington 4.6% 0.0% 0.6% 0.7% 47 3.5% 122500 1.0% 35700 2.7% 96300
West Virginia 3.7% -0.4% 0.0% -1.4% 32 0.4% 2500 -0.4% -3000 -3.0% -21300
Wisconsin 2.7% -0.3% -0.1% -0.3% 10 1.7% 50300 0.3% 9400 0.1% 1500
Wyoming 3.8% -0.1% 0.4% -1.1% 36 2.1% 6000 0.4% 1200 -0.4% -1200

Jobs refers to the total number of jobs, part-time or full-time, in nonfarm establishments.

Source: EPI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics data.

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