Press Release - REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT — AUGUST 2016
Unemployment rates were significantly higher in August in 6 states, lower in 3 states, and stable in 41 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Ten states had notable jobless rate decreases from a year earlier, 5 states had increases, and 35 states and the District had no significant change. The national unemployment rate remained at 4.9 percent in August and was little different from that of August 2015.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 4 states and the District of Columbia in August 2016, decreased in 3 states, and was essentially unchanged in 43 states. Over the year, 35 states added appreciable numbers of nonfarm payroll jobs, North Dakota and Wyoming lost jobs, and 13 states and the District were essentially unchanged.
Regional Unemployment
In August, two regions had unemployment rates significantly different than the U.S. rate of 4.9 percent: the Midwest, at 4.5 percent, and West, at 5.3 percent. Over the month, no region had a statistically significant unemployment rate change. Significant over-the-year rate decreases occurred in two regions: the South (-0.5 percentage point) and West (-0.3 point). (See table 1.)
Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest unemployment rate, 4.1 percent in August, followed by New England, 4.2 percent, and the South Atlantic, 4.5 percent. The Pacific had the highest rate, 5.4 percent. Over the month, the West North Central had the only statistically significant jobless rate change (+0.2 percentage point). Four of the 9 divisions had significant rate changes from a year earlier, all of which were declines. The largest of these decreases occurred in the East South Central and South Atlantic (-0.8 percentage point each).
State Unemployment
South Dakota and New Hampshire had the lowest jobless rates in August, 2.9 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. Alaska had the highest unemployment rate, 6.8 percent. In total, 20 states had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 4.9 percent, 11 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 19 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3 and map 1.)
In August, six states had statistically significant unemployment rate increases, the largest of which occurred in Missouri (+0.4 percentage point) and Kansas (+0.3 point). Three states had notable rate decreases: Alabama and Illinois (-0.3 percentage point each) and Utah (-0.2 point). The remaining 41 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not significantly different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)
page source http://www.bls.gov/
