The chart above shows the unemployment rate in each US state as of January 2019, the change from the previous month, and the rate one year prior. Iowa and New Hampshire are the only states with an unemployment rate below 2.5 percent.
Findings
- The difference between the state with the lowest unemployment rate, a tie between Iowa and New Hampshire, and the state with the highest, Alaska, is 4.1 percentage points.
- Alaska has 2.71 times the unemployment rate that each of Iowa and New Hampshire do.
- The median unemployment rate in the 50 US states is 3.75 (up from 3.70 the previous month) and the mean 3.72 (up from 3.70 the previous month).
- Twenty-six states did not see a change in their unemployment rate from the previous month, seven saw an improvement, and 17 states saw their rate increase over the previous month.
- Three states did not see a change in their unemployment rate from last year, while 38 saw an improvement over the prior year's rate, and nine saw their unemployment rate increase over the year.
Caveats
- Data is from January 2019.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
Details
All seven states whose unemployment rate decreased saw a decrease of 0.1 percentage points. Arizona had the largest increase in its unemployment rate at 0.2 percentage points.
Thirty-two states have an unemployment rate below four percent (the same as last month) which traditionally has placed inflationary pressure on wages. The remaining 18 have a rate between four and eight percent (also the same as last month).
Data
| State | Previous Rate | Latest Rate | Change (Percentage Points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 3.8 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Alaska | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0 |
| Arizona | 4.9 | 5.1 | 0.2 |
| Arkansas | 3.7 | 3.7 | 0 |
| California | 4.1 | 4.2 | 0.1 |
| Colorado | 3.6 | 3.7 | 0.1 |
| Connecticut | 3.8 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Delaware | 3.6 | 3.5 | -0.1 |
| Florida | 3.3 | 3.4 | 0.1 |
| Georgia | 3.7 | 3.8 | 0.1 |
| Hawaii | 2.6 | 2.7 | 0.1 |
| Idaho | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0 |
| Illinois | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Indiana | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Iowa | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0 |
| Kansas | 3.3 | 3.4 | 0.1 |
| Kentucky | 4.3 | 4.2 | -0.1 |
| Louisiana | 4.9 | 4.9 | 0 |
| Maine | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0 |
| Maryland | 3.7 | 3.7 | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 3.1 | 3.1 | 0 |
| Michigan | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Minnesota | 2.9 | 3 | 0.1 |
| Mississippi | 4.7 | 4.7 | 0 |
| Missouri | 3.1 | 3.2 | 0.1 |
| Montana | 3.7 | 3.8 | 0.1 |
| Nebraska | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0 |
| Nevada | 4.4 | 4.4 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0 |
| New Jersey | 3.9 | 4 | 0.1 |
| New Mexico | 5 | 5.1 | 0.1 |
| New York | 3.9 | 3.9 | 0 |
| North Carolina | 3.7 | 3.8 | 0.1 |
| North Dakota | 2.6 | 2.5 | -0.1 |
| Ohio | 4.6 | 4.7 | 0.1 |
| Oklahoma | 3.1 | 3.2 | 0.1 |
| Oregon | 4.3 | 4.3 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 4.2 | 4.1 | -0.1 |
| Rhode Island | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| South Carolina | 3.2 | 3.2 | 0 |
| South Dakota | 2.9 | 2.9 | 0 |
| Tennessee | 3.3 | 3.3 | 0 |
| Texas | 3.7 | 3.8 | 0.1 |
| Utah | 3.2 | 3.1 | -0.1 |
| Vermont | 2.6 | 2.5 | -0.1 |
| Virginia | 2.8 | 2.8 | 0 |
| Washington | 4.5 | 4.5 | 0 |
| West Virginia | 5.1 | 5.2 | 0.1 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Wyoming | 4.1 | 4 | -0.1 |
Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2019. "State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release." Accessed March 24, 2019. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.htm.