The State and Regional Employment report for April, released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows continued progress towards full employment in most states. Almost all of the states experienced increases in job growth and decreases in unemployment rates. In states with increases in unemployment rates, the average increase was just 0.1 percentage point.
“While the economy continues to improve for working people, we are not at full employment yet,” said EPI analyst Janelle Jones. “As states experience economic growth, policymakers should implement policies that help a wide group of working people get good jobs.”
From January to April, 45 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with Louisiana (1.1 percent), Texas (1.0 percent), Colorado (0.9 percent), Nevada (0.9 percent), and Utah (0.8 percent) making the largest percentage gains. Over that same period, employment fell in just five states: Montana (-0.5 percent), South Dakota (-0.2 percent), Connecticut (-0.1 percent), Maryland (-0.1 percent), and Minnesota (-0.1 percent).
During the same time period, unemployment rates fell in 29 states and the District of Columbia. New Mexico (-0.4 percentage points), Illinois (-0.4 percentage points), Ohio (-0.4 percentage points), Virginia (-0.3 percentage points), and Wisconsin (-0.3 percentage points) saw the largest declines in unemployment rates. Over those same months, the unemployment rate increased in seven states, the same number of states in last month’s report. The seven states with increases in unemployment rates are: Maryland (0.2 percentage points), Alabama (0.1 percentage points), Arizona (0.1 percentage points), Arkansas (0.1 percentage points), Tennessee (0.1 percentage points), Texas (0.1 percentage points), and Washington (0.1 percentage points). In 14 states, the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged.
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 | 2.1% | -0.1% | -0.5% | -1.3% | 7 | 2.0% | 42500 | 0.7% | 14300 | 3.5% | 72800 |
| Alaska | 3.8% | 0.1% | 0.0% | -1.4% | 43 | 1.6% | 5200 | -0.1% | -400 | -1.5% | -4800 |
| Arizona | 3.6% | 0.2% | -0.3% | -1.4% | 41 | 1.8% | 56600 | 0.1% | 3700 | 5.4% | 162300 |
| Arkansas | 2.6% | -0.2% | -0.7% | -1.0% | 14 | 1.8% | 24300 | 0.6% | 8200 | 5.3% | 68800 |
| California | 4.6% | 0.1% | 0.8% | 0.5% | 49 | 2.0% | 363600 | 0.4% | 76000 | 2.4% | 424200 |
| Colorado | 2.9% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 23 | 1.4% | 38800 | 0.4% | 11200 | 3.1% | 88200 |
| Connecticut | 3.6% | -0.2% | -0.4% | 0.2% | 40 | 1.3% | 21400 | 0.3% | 5700 | -0.4% | -6800 |
| Delaware | 4.1% | -0.2% | -0.3% | 0.4% | 48 | 2.4% | 11200 | -0.1% | -400 | 3.0% | 14200 |
| Washington D.C. | 5.0% | 0.0% | 0.9% | -0.4% | 50 | 0.9% | 6600 | 0.3% | 2200 | -3.8% | -30400 |
| Florida | 2.7% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 19 | 3.2% | 300600 | 0.6% | 63000 | 7.7% | 696100 |
| Georgia | 3.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | -0.4% | 29 | 1.8% | 88300 | 0.3% | 14400 | 5.2% | 241900 |
| Hawaii | 2.8% | -0.5% | -0.7% | 0.6% | 22 | 2.0% | 12700 | 0.8% | 4900 | -4.1% | -27500 |
| Idaho | 2.8% | 0.2% | 0.1% | -0.2% | 21 | 2.8% | 23600 | 0.8% | 6800 | 10.2% | 78800 |
| Illinois | 4.0% | -0.2% | -0.4% | 0.2% | 46 | 1.5% | 89700 | 0.4% | 26300 | 0.1% | 8900 |
| Indiana | 3.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | -0.1% | 32 | 1.8% | 57500 | 0.3% | 10500 | 3.1% | 98900 |
| Iowa | 2.7% | 0.0% | -0.1% | 0.1% | 18 | 0.9% | 14400 | -0.7% | -11200 | -0.3% | -5100 |
| Kansas | 2.7% | -0.2% | 0.0% | -0.4% | 17 | 1.6% | 23100 | 0.2% | 2600 | 1.1% | 16200 |
| Kentucky | 3.8% | 0.1% | -0.1% | -0.3% | 42 | 2.6% | 50200 | 0.5% | 10400 | 2.8% | 54100 |
| Louisiana | 3.4% | -0.2% | -0.1% | -1.8% | 35 | 1.6% | 30200 | -0.1% | -1400 | -1.8% | -36400 |
| Maine | 2.4% | 0.0% | -0.3% | -0.4% | 9 | 0.5% | 3200 | -0.4% | -2500 | 0.5% | 3100 |
| Maryland | 1.8% | -0.7% | -1.4% | -2.4% | 3 | 0.8% | 21100 | 0.2% | 5800 | -1.4% | -39500 |
| Massachusetts | 2.5% | -0.6% | -1.2% | -0.4% | 12 | 2.4% | 90300 | 0.6% | 21200 | 1.1% | 41100 |
| Michigan | 3.6% | -0.2% | -0.5% | -0.2% | 39 | 1.4% | 63100 | 0.3% | 13600 | -0.3% | -13500 |
| Minnesota | 3.0% | 0.2% | 0.4% | -0.9% | 26 | 1.4% | 41200 | 0.1% | 3600 | -0.4% | -12900 |
| Mississippi | 3.0% | -0.4% | -0.8% | -2.7% | 25 | 0.3% | 3200 | -0.4% | -5000 | 0.9% | 11000 |
| Missouri | 2.7% | 0.2% | 0.5% | -0.6% | 16 | 2.0% | 58900 | 0.9% | 27200 | 2.6% | 75800 |
| Montana | 2.5% | 0.2% | -0.2% | -1.2% | 11 | 0.5% | 2700 | -0.4% | -2300 | 5.2% | 25400 |
| Nebraska | 2.0% | 0.0% | -0.4% | -1.0% | 6 | 2.0% | 20100 | 0.3% | 3600 | 1.3% | 13800 |
| Nevada | 5.3% | -0.1% | 0.0% | 1.3% | 51 | 3.8% | 56500 | 0.7% | 10600 | 6.9% | 100400 |
| New Hampshire | 1.7% | -0.4% | -0.8% | -1.0% | 1 | 1.5% | 10400 | -0.2% | -1300 | 1.2% | 8600 |
| New Jersey | 3.9% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 45 | 1.7% | 73300 | 0.2% | 9100 | 2.5% | 106700 |
| New Mexico | 3.6% | 0.1% | 0.0% | -1.8% | 38 | 2.6% | 21700 | 0.6% | 5100 | 1.0% | 8900 |
| New York | 3.9% | -0.1% | -0.1% | 0.0% | 44 | 1.3% | 124900 | 0.4% | 35600 | -1.4% | -142100 |
| North Carolina | 3.3% | -0.1% | -0.4% | -0.4% | 31 | 2.2% | 108000 | 0.7% | 33300 | 6.7% | 308000 |
| North Dakota | 2.0% | -0.1% | 0.0% | -0.2% | 5 | 2.0% | 8800 | 1.0% | 4500 | -0.5% | -2300 |
| Ohio | 3.3% | -0.4% | -0.7% | -1.3% | 30 | 1.6% | 89200 | 0.6% | 31200 | 0.5% | 25400 |
| Oklahoma | 2.7% | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.5% | 15 | 1.7% | 28400 | 0.4% | 6700 | 1.7% | 29800 |
| Oregon | 3.4% | -0.6% | -0.7% | 0.0% | 34 | 2.6% | 49900 | 0.8% | 16700 | 1.7% | 33300 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.5% | -0.6% | -0.8% | -1.5% | 36 | 2.4% | 143100 | 0.6% | 34400 | 0.9% | 53300 |
| Rhode Island | 2.8% | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.9% | 20 | -1.1% | -5600 | -0.4% | -1900 | -2.8% | -14200 |
| South Carolina | 3.1% | 0.0% | -0.1% | 0.2% | 28 | 2.3% | 52900 | 0.6% | 14300 | 4.9% | 108500 |
| South Dakota | 1.9% | 0.0% | -0.2% | -0.7% | 4 | 1.6% | 7400 | -0.1% | -300 | 4.0% | 17600 |
| Tennessee | 3.1% | -0.2% | -0.2% | -0.5% | 27 | 2.2% | 72400 | 0.6% | 19600 | 5.6% | 175200 |
| Texas | 4.1% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 47 | 3.3% | 441700 | 0.7% | 101400 | 7.7% | 1002900 |
| Utah | 2.4% | 0.1% | 0.1% | -0.2% | 8 | 2.4% | 40700 | 0.3% | 4900 | 9.6% | 151000 |
| Vermont | 1.8% | -0.6% | -0.7% | -0.8% | 2 | 0.7% | 2100 | -0.4% | -1300 | -2.4% | -7500 |
| Virginia | 2.5% | -0.6% | -0.1% | -0.2% | 10 | 1.6% | 64400 | 0.2% | 7100 | 1.3% | 54400 |
| Washington | 3.6% | -0.7% | -0.5% | -0.3% | 37 | 2.6% | 92500 | 0.3% | 11400 | 3.3% | 117800 |
| West Virginia | 3.4% | 0.1% | -0.6% | -1.7% | 33 | 1.0% | 6800 | 0.3% | 2100 | -2.8% | -20200 |
| Wisconsin | 2.6% | 0.2% | -0.4% | -0.4% | 13 | 1.3% | 39500 | 0.2% | 5300 | 0.4% | 11300 |
| Wyoming | 3.0% | -0.5% | -0.5% | -1.9% | 24 | 2.2% | 6200 | 0.8% | 2200 | 0.5% | 1400 |
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.