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).
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.