The unemployment rate and the change in the number of jobs are important indicators of state labor market health. The unemployment rate is the share of the state’s labor force that is not currently employed and is actively looking for work. Healthy job growth is growth that provides regular employment for all individuals wanting a job. 

The map below shows the current unemployment rate in each state, and the percent change in the number of jobs in each state over the preceding 12 months. Clicking on a state will also show the change in that state’s unemployment rate or change in the number of jobs over the last 3 months, 12 months, and since December 2007—the peak of the previous business cycle.

July 2023

When workers lose a job or cannot find work, they and their families lose wages and benefits, and the adverse effects may last a very long time as career trajectories are interrupted. When more workers are unemployed, it also depresses wage growth for those workers who have a job, since employers have little need to raise pay to attract or retain staff. Although the country remains on a positive trend of job growth and falling unemployment, many states still have rates of job growth that are leaving many unable to find work and paychecks falling behind. To ensure workers in every community have access to jobs and rising pay, policymakers should prioritize a full employment agenda.

Data come from the State and Regional Employment report, released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Explore the map to see how these indicators differ across the country and read EPI’s recent research analyzing jobs and unemployment.

Over the past three months, 44 states added jobs, with Utah (1.0 percent), Oregon (0.9 percent), South Carolina (0.8 percent), Montana (0.8 percent), Washington (0.8 percent), and Hawaii (0.8 percent) making the largest percentage job gains. Over that same period, the number of jobs fell in 6 states and the District of Columbia. The largest job losses occurred in North Dakota (-1.4 percent) and Alaska (-0.6 percent).

From October to January, unemployment fell in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Kentucky (-0.3 percentage points), Indiana (-0.2 percentage points), Ohio (-0.2 percentage points), Maine (-0.2 percentage points), and Mississippi (-0.2 percentage points) saw the largest declines in unemployment rates. Over those same months, the unemployment rate increased in 6 states. The increases in unemployment rates occurred in Texas (0.1 percentage points), Missouri (0.1 percentage points), Arizona (0.1 percentage points), South Carolina (0.1 percentage points), Maryland (0.1 percentage points), and Alaska (0.1 percentage points).

“While the past few years have certainly brought some good news for workers, wage growth has been sluggish and unequal, and labor force participation is below where we would expect it to be given recent unemployment rates,” said Schieder. “The next Fed chair should continue the course set by Janet Yellen, keeping interest rates low until the economy has fully recovered.”

From January to April, 32 states added jobs, with Nevada (1.2 percent), South Dakota (1.1 percent), Utah (1.0 percent), and Minnesota (0.9 percent) making the largest percentage job gains. Over that same period, employment fell in nine states and the District of Columbia. Of those states, Vermont (-0.5 percent), Idaho (-0.4 percent), Missouri (-0.3 percent), and New Hampshire (-0.3 percent) had the largest losses. In nine states, the number of jobs was essentially unchanged.

From January to April, the unemployment rate fell in 37 states. Alabama (-1.0 percent), Illinois (-1.0 percent), West Virginia (-0.8 percent), Tennessee (-0.7 percent), and Wisconsin (-0.7 percent) saw the largest declines in unemployment. Over those same months, the unemployment rate increased in eight states and the District of Columbia. The largest increases in unemployment occurred in Massachusetts (0.7 percent), Connecticut (0.4 percent), Delaware (0.2 percent), District of Columbia (0.2 percent), and Texas (0.2 percent). Five states saw no change in their unemployment rates: Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah, and Vermont.

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From December to March, 46 states added jobs, with Montana (1.0 percent), Maine (0.9 percent), Utah (0.8 percent), Florida (0.7 percent), and Tennessee (0.7 percent) making the largest percentage job gains. Over that same period, employment fell only in Alaska (-0.3 percent), Hawaii (-0.3 percent), Missouri (-0.2 percent), and West Virginia (-0.1 percent). In the District of Columbia, the number of jobs was essentially unchanged.

From December to March, the unemployment rate fell in 37 states. West Virginia (-0.9 percent), Illinois (-0.8 percent), Maine (-0.8 percent), Oregon (-0.7 percent), and Wisconsin (-0.7 percent) saw the largest declines in unemployment. During that same period, 10 states saw increases in unemployment rates. The largest increases occurred in Massachusetts (0.5 percent), Connecticut (0.4 percent), Delaware (0.2 percent), Kentucky (0.2 percent), and Texas (0.2 percent). Four states saw no change in their unemployment rates: Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico, and Tennessee.

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From November to February, 46 states added jobs, with Maryland (1.2 percent), Idaho (1.1 percent), Montana (1.1 percent), Vermont (1.1 percent), and New Jersey (0.9 percent) making the largest percentage job gains. Over that same period, employment fell in the District of Columbia (-0.1 percent) and only 3 states: West Virginia (-0.8 percent), Alaska (-0.2 percent), and Hawaii (-0.2 percent). In North Dakota, the number of jobs was essentially unchanged.

From November to February, the unemployment rate fell in 34 states and the District of Columbia. Maine (-0.6 percent), Oregon (-0.6 percent), and West Virginia (-0.6 percent) saw the largest declines in unemployment. During that same time period, 11 states saw modest increases in unemployment rates. The largest increases in unemployment occurred in Massachusetts (0.3 percent), Connecticut (0.2 percent), Delaware (0.2 percent), Michigan (0.2 percent), and Tennessee (0.2 percent). Five states saw no change in their unemployment rates: Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, and Minnesota.

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From October to January, 42 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with Idaho (1.4 percent), Florida (1.1 percent), Maine (1.0 percent), Montana (1.0 percent), and Texas (0.9 percent) making the largest percentage job gains. Over that same period, employment fell in eight states. Of those states, Alaska (-1.0 percent) and Kansas (-0.4 percent) had the largest percentage losses.

From October to January, the unemployment rate fell in 32 states and the District of Columbia. Maine (-0.4 percent), Missouri (-0.4 percent), Oregon (-0.4 percent), and Rhode Island (-0.4 percent) had the largest declines in unemployment. Over those same months, the unemployment rate increased in eight states. The largest increases in unemployment occurred in Tennessee (0.4 percent), Alabama (0.3 percent), Michigan (0.2 percent), and North Carolina (0.2 percent).

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From September to December of last year, 35 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with New Mexico (0.9 percent), Oregon (0.8 percent), Georgia (0.7 percent), Idaho (0.7 percent), and Montana (0.7 percent) making the largest percentage job gains. Over that same period, employment fell in 15 states. Of those states, North Dakota (-1.0 percent), Alaska (-0.8 percent), Delaware (-0.7 percent), and Mississippi (-0.7 percent) had the largest percentage losses.

Over the final three months of 2016, the unemployment rate fell in 37 states and the District of Columbia. Connecticut (-1.0 percentage points), Oregon (-0.9 percentage points), Massachusetts (-0.8 percentage points), and Missouri (-0.7 percentage points) experienced the biggest drops in unemployment. Unemployment rose in 11 states, although most of these increases corresponded to relatively large increases in state labor forces—suggesting that at least some of these unemployment increases were the result of previously discouraged workers restarting the job search. The largest unemployment rate increases occurred in Alabama (0.8 percentage points), Michigan (0.4 percentage points), and North Carolina (0.4 percentage points). In these states, the labor force grew by 1.7 percent, 1.4 percent, and 2 percent, respectively, while the national labor force number was largely unchanged over this period.

While the country has made great strides since the recession began, there remains a significant number of “missing” and underutilized workers that would benefit from further tightening of the labor market. Because the Federal Reserve has opted to temper job growth by raising interest rates, the task of stimulating stronger job growth will fall primarily to lawmakers willing to invest in those communities that need a boost. State lawmakers need to keep this in mind as they enter into budget season.

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From August to November, 32 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with the largest percentage gains occurring in Montana (+1.4 percent), West Virginia (+1.4 percent), Washington (+1.1 percent), and Nebraska (+1.0 percent). Over the same period, 18 states lost jobs. Vermont (-1.0 percent), Alaska (-0.9 percent), Connecticut (-0.6 percent), Iowa (-0.5 percent), North Dakota (-0.5 percent), and Oklahoma (-0.5 percent) experienced the largest losses. As of November, seven states (Wyoming, New Mexico, Alabama, Mississippi, Connecticut, Maine, and New Jersey), are still below their pre-recession employment levels.

The unemployment rate declined in 29 states from August to November. The largest declines occurred in Nevada (-1.1 percentage points), Massachusetts (-1.0 percentage points), Connecticut (-0.9 percentage points), Arizona (-0.8 percentage points), and South Carolina (-0.7 percentage points). At the same time, there were increases of no more than 0.5 percentage points in the unemployment rate in 14 states, and no significant change in the unemployment rate in eight states. Over the past year34 states have had declines in their unemployment rates and 15 have had an increase of no more than 1.0 percentage points, and two had no significant change. As of November, 23 states and the District of Columbia still have higher unemployment rates than at the beginning of the Great Recession.

In the months ahead, policymaking at the federal level may require states to step up their efforts in pursuit of a full recovery. The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to raise interest rates is an unfortunate setback, dealing a blow to potential wage growth for low and middle-wage workers in states that have yet to reach full employment. Policymakers would be wise to adopt a real agenda for working people that creates jobs, raises wages, and addresses long-standing inequalities includes an increase of the minimum wage, paid sick and family leave, and elimination of discrimination in hiring.

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From July to October, 34 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with the largest percentage gains in District of Columbia (+1.1 percent), New Hampshire (+1.0 percent), Tennessee (+1.0 percent), and Washington (+1.0 percent). Over the same period, 16 states lost jobs. Maine (-1.3 percent), Vermont (-1.0 percent), and New Mexico (-0.9 percent), and Connecticut (-0.8 percent) suffered the largest losses. Over the last quarter the Northeast was the only region to experience job loss, but this loss has not been sustained over the past 6 or 12 months.

From July to October, the unemployment rate fell in 17 states. Nevada (-1.0 percent), Arizona (-0.8 percent), Massachusetts (-0.8 percent), and Utah (-0.7 percent) experienced the largest declines in unemployment. There were small increases in the unemployment rate in 24 states and the District of Columbia. The largest increases in unemployment rates occurred in New York (+0.5 percentage points), Tennessee (+0.5 percentage points), Virginia (+0.5 percentage points), Kansas (+0.4 percentage points), and Missouri (+0.4 percentage points). Twenty states still have higher unemployment rates than at the beginning of the Great Recession.

As the labor market continues its slow but steady recovery, policymakers should make sure the rewards of economic growth are shared by those demographics usually left behind. Federal and state institutions can address gender and racial disparities through a number of policies including progressive revenue increases, a higher minimum wage, and pay equity for women and minorities.

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From June to September, 38 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with the largest percentage job gains occurring in Florida (1.2 percent), Nevada (1.1 percent), and Tennessee (1.0 percent). Over the same period, 12 states lost jobs. New Mexico (-1.2 percent), Alaska (-0.9 percent), Louisiana (-0.6 percent), and Oklahoma (-0.6 percent) experienced the largest losses. These four states—along with Kansas, North Dakota, and Wyoming—had fewer jobs in September of this year than they did in September of 2015. Much of these losses can be traced to the continued decline in energy prices.

The unemployment rate declined in 19 states from June to September. The largest declines occurred in Illinois (-0.7 percentage points), Alabama (-0.6 percentage points), Massachusetts (-0.6 percentage points), Nevada (-0.6 percentage points), and Utah (-0.6 percentage points). Unemployment rose in 28 states over the same period, although most of the increases were modest. Missouri (+0.7 percentage points), Oregon (+0.7 percentage points), and Kansas (+0.6 percentage points) had more sizeable increases in unemployment. Job growth in Oregon and Missouri over the past six months suggests that some of this increase could be the result of previously discouraged jobseekers restarting the job search. The same cannot be said for Kansas, where job numbers have fallen over the past year.

The labor market weakness in energy-intensive states over the past year highlights the risk of relying heavily upon a limited number of industries for growth. Diversifying states’ industrial makeup requires investing in education, yet many states are still investing too little in their public education systems.

For those state economies moving closer to relatively healthy conditions, policymakers should start working to combat longstanding inequities in labor market outcomes, such as the significant pay gaps that exist for women and people of color, the lack of retirement security for Hispanic families, and the persistently elevated unemployment rates faced by the African American community in much of the country.

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