Only Massachusetts had a significant decrease in its jobless rate in March, but 38 states and the District of Columbia gained jobs over the past 3 months. The last time more than 20 states had job growth over a 3-month period was in March, 2008 – just after the recession started, according to EPI analysis of BLS data released today.
EPI policy analyst Kai Filion believes this job growth is a hopeful sign, but cautions: “Thus far, job growth isn’t strong enough to lower the unemployment rates of most states.”
|
Unemployment Rate Change |
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|
Current Recession (Since Dec 2007) compared to March 2010 |
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|
Dec-07 |
Mar-10 |
Percentage Point Change |
|
|
UNITED STATES |
5.0% |
9.7% |
4.7 |
|
Alabama |
3.9% |
11.0% |
7.1 |
|
Alaska |
6.2% |
8.6% |
2.4 |
|
Arizona |
4.3% |
9.6% |
5.3 |
|
Arkansas |
5.0% |
7.8% |
2.8 |
|
California |
5.8% |
12.6% |
6.8 |
|
Colorado |
4.3% |
7.9% |
3.6 |
|
Connecticut |
4.9% |
9.2% |
4.3 |
|
Delaware |
3.8% |
9.2% |
5.4 |
|
District of Columbia |
5.5% |
11.6% |
6.1 |
|
Florida |
4.7% |
12.3% |
7.6 |
|
Georgia |
5.1% |
10.6% |
5.5 |
|
Hawaii |
3.0% |
6.9% |
3.9 |
|
Idaho |
3.5% |
9.4% |
5.9 |
|
Illinois |
5.5% |
11.5% |
6.0 |
|
Indiana |
4.6% |
9.9% |
5.3 |
|
Iowa |
3.9% |
6.8% |
2.9 |
|
Kansas |
4.0% |
6.5% |
2.5 |
|
Kentucky |
5.5% |
10.7% |
5.2 |
|
Louisiana |
3.8% |
6.9% |
3.1 |
|
Maine |
4.7% |
8.2% |
3.5 |
|
Maryland |
3.5% |
7.7% |
4.2 |
|
Massachusetts |
4.4% |
9.3% |
4.9 |
|
Michigan |
7.1% |
14.1% |
7.0 |
|
Minnesota |
4.7% |
7.4% |
2.7 |
|
Mississippi |
6.1% |
11.5% |
5.4 |
|
Missouri |
5.3% |
9.5% |
4.2 |
|
Montana |
3.9% |
7.1% |
3.2 |
|
Nebraska |
2.9% |
5.0% |
2.1 |
|
Nevada |
5.2% |
13.4% |
8.2 |
|
New Hampshire |
3.4% |
7.0% |
3.6 |
|
New Jersey |
4.5% |
9.8% |
5.3 |
|
New Mexico |
3.6% |
8.8% |
5.2 |
|
New York |
4.7% |
8.6% |
3.9 |
|
North Carolina |
4.9% |
11.1% |
6.2 |
|
North Dakota |
3.0% |
4.0% |
1.0 |
|
Ohio |
5.6% |
11.0% |
5.4 |
|
Oklahoma |
3.6% |
6.6% |
3.0 |
|
Oregon |
5.2% |
10.6% |
5.4 |
|
Pennsylvania |
4.5% |
9.0% |
4.5 |
|
Rhode Island |
6.0% |
12.6% |
6.6 |
|
South Carolina |
5.6% |
12.2% |
6.6 |
|
South Dakota |
2.8% |
4.8% |
2.0 |
|
Tennessee |
5.5% |
10.6% |
5.1 |
|
Texas |
4.4% |
8.2% |
3.8 |
|
Utah |
3.1% |
7.2% |
4.1 |
|
Vermont |
4.0% |
6.5% |
2.5 |
|
Virginia |
3.2% |
7.4% |
4.2 |
|
Washington |
4.6% |
9.5% |
4.9 |
|
West Virginia |
4.0% |
9.5% |
5.5 |
|
Wisconsin |
4.5% |
8.8% |
4.3 |
|
Wyoming |
2.8% |
7.3% |
4.5 |