The chart above shows the unemployment rate in each US region as of April 2020, the change from the previous month, and the rate one year prior. All four regions saw their unemployment rate rise both over the past month and over the past year.
Findings
- The difference between the region with the lowest unemployment rate, the South, and the regions with the highest, the Midwest and the West, is 2.03 percentage points (up from 1.25 last month and up from 0.49 last year). The Midwest had the lowest rate last month while the South had the lowest rate last year. The West had the highest rate last month and last year.
- The Midwest and the West have 1.16 times the unemployment rate that the South does (down from 1.31 last month and up from 1.14 last year).
- Zero regions saw no change in their rate from the previous month, zero regions saw an improvement, and four regions saw a deterioration.
- Zero regions saw no change in their rate from last year, zero regions saw an improvement, and four regions saw a deterioration.
Caveats
- Data is from April 2020.
- Data may conflict with previous month's report as statistical agencies make updates to the rates over the course of the month.
- All figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth.
- The Midwestern US consists of Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
- The Northeastern US consists of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- The Southern US consists of Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
- The Western US consists of California, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming.
Details
In absolute terms, the South had the smallest monthly deterioration raising its rate 8.36 percentage points. The Midwest had the largest deterioration raising its rate 10.88 percentage points. Year over year, the South saw the smallest deterioration raising its rate 9.26 percentage points. The Midwest saw the largest deterioration raising its rate 11.18 percentage points.
In relative terms, the West had the smallest monthly impairment raising its rate 184.48%. The Midwest had the largest impairment raising its rate 274.06%. Year over year, the South saw the smallest impairment with a 260.11% rise in its rate. The Midwest saw the largest impairment with a 304.63% rise in its rate.
The Midwest and the West have an unemployment rate higher than 33 out of 50 states. The South has an unemployment rate that is lower than just over half of the states in the country besting 27 out of 50 states.
The South has the smallest range in unemployment rates this month with a low of 10.2% in Arkansas to a high of 15.4% in Mississippi. The West has the greatest range with a low of 9.2% in Wyoming to a high of 28.2% in Nevada.
Sources
Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2020. "State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release." Accessed June 8, 2020. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.htm.