Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Technical information: Employment: (202) 691-6559 USDL 08-1147 http://www.bls.gov/sae/ Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 http://www.bls.gov/lau/ For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT) Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, August 15, 2008 REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: JULY 2008 Regional and state unemployment rates were mostly higher in July. Overall, 43 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the- month unemployment rate increases, 6 states registered decreases, and 1 state had no change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates were up in 47 states and the District of Columbia and down in 3 states. The national unemployment rate rose in July to 5.7 percent, a full percentage point higher than a year earlier. Between June 2008 and July 2008 nonfarm payroll employment increased in 14 states and the District of Columbia, and decreased in 36 states. The largest employment increases were recorded in Texas (+17,700), Ken- tucky (+11,300), Kansas (+8,800), the District of Columbia (+6,700), and Tennessee (+5,700). The District of Columbia posted the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+1.0 percent), fol- lowed by South Dakota (+0.9 percent), Kansas and Kentucky (+0.6 percent each), and North Dakota (+0.3 percent). The largest employment decreases occurred in Florida (-21,400), Georgia (-18,900), Indiana (-16,500), California (-14,900), and Arizona (-14,100). Alaska experienced the largest over-the-month percentage decline in employment (-0.7 percent), followed by Indiana (-0.6 percent), and Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, and Utah (-0.5 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 29 states and the District of Columbia, and decreased in 21 states. The largest over-the-year percentage gains in employment were reported in Texas (+2.4 percent), the District of Columbia (+2.3 percent), and Wyoming (+2.2 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage declines in employment occurred in Rhode Island (-2.6 percent), Arizona (-1.5 percent), Florida (-1.2 percent), and Michigan (-1.1 percent). Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted) In July, the Midwest and West regions again posted the highest jobless rates, 6.5 and 6.3 percent, respectively. The Northeast and South recorded the lowest unemployment rates, 5.3 and 5.5 percent, respectively. The Midwest, South, and West registered statistically significant rate changes from the previous month (+0.4 percentage point each). All four regions reported significant jobless rate increases from July 2007: the West (+1.6 percentage points), Midwest (+1.3 points), South (+1.2 points), and Northeast (+0.8 point). (See table 1.) - 2 - Among the nine geographic divisions, the East North Central continued to post the highest unemployment rate, 7.1 percent in July, followed by the Pacific, at 6.9 percent, and the East South Central, at 6.6 percent. The West South Central again recorded the lowest jobless rate, 4.6 percent. The Mountain registered the next lowest rate, 4.9 percent. Seven divisions reported statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate changes, all increases: the East South Central, South Atlantic, and West North Central (+0.5 percentage point each); East North Central and Pacific (+0.4 point each); West South Central (+0.3 point); and Mountain (+0.2 point). Over the year, eight divisions had significant rate changes, all increases: the East South Central (+1.9 percentage points), Pacific (+1.7 points), South Atlantic (+1.6 points), East North Central (+1.5 points), Mountain (+1.3 points), New England and West North Central (+0.9 point each), and Middle Atlantic (+0.8 point). State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted) In July, Michigan continued to post the highest jobless rate, 8.5 percent. Six additional states recorded rates of 7.0 percent or higher: Mississippi (7.9 percent), Rhode Island (7.7 percent), California and Illinois (7.3 percent each), Ohio (7.2 percent), and South Carolina (7.0 percent). South Dakota again logged the lowest unemployment rate, 3.0 percent, followed by Nebraska, at 3.4 percent, and North Dakota and Utah, at 3.5 percent each. Overall, 12 states and the District of Columbia registered significantly higher jobless rates than the U.S., 22 states reported measurably lower rates, and 16 states had rates little different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.) Mississippi and South Carolina posted the largest unemployment rate increases from June to July (+0.9 percentage point each). Eighteen more states and the District of Columbia also experienced statistically significant rate increases. Two states, West Virginia and Arkansas, recorded significant jobless rate decreases from the prior month (-0.8 and -0.5 percentage point, respectively). The remaining 28 states registered July unemployment rates that were not appreciably 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.) Forty-three states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant jobless rate increases from July 2007. Rhode Island re- ported the largest rate increase (+2.7 percentage points), followed by Tennessee (+2.3 points), Illinois (+2.2 points), and Florida (+2.0 points). Twenty-four other states and the District of Columbia posted over-the-year rate increases of 1.0 percentage point or more. Fifteen additional states had smaller, but also statistically significant, rate increases from July 2007. Arkansas experienced the only statistically significant unemployment rate decrease (-1.0 percentage point). The remaining six states recorded July 2008 jobless rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier. (See table C.) Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted) Between June 2008 and July 2008, seven states and the District of Columbia reported statistically significant changes in employment, four of which were increases. The gains were in Kentucky (+11,300), Kansas (+8,800), the District of Columbia (+6,700), and South Dakota (+3,800). The employment losses were in Georgia (-18,900), Indiana (-16,500), Arizona (-14,100), and Utah (-6,400). (See tables D and 5.) - 3 - Over the year, seven states posted statistically significant changes in employment, three of which were job increases. The employment gains occurred in Texas (+248,700), North Carolina (+38,300), and Colorado (+30,800). The 4 statistically significant over-the-year declines were in Florida (-96,800), Michigan (-48,700), Arizona (-41,300), and Rhode Island (-13,000). (See table E.) ______________________________ The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for July is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, August 27. The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment release for August is scheduled to be issued on Friday, September 19. __________________________________________________________________ | | | Hurricane Katrina | | | | For July, BLS and its state partners continued to make modi- | | fications to the usual estimation procedures for the LAUS pro- | | gram to reflect the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the labor | | force statistics in affected areas. These modifications includ- | | ed: (1) modifying the state population controls to account for | | displacement due to Katrina; (2) developing labor force esti- | | mates for the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area | | using an alternative to the model-based method; and (3) not pub- | | lishing labor force estimates for the months immediately follow- | | ing the hurricane for the parishes within the New Orleans- | | Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area and cities within those par- | | ishes, where the quality of input data was severely compromised | | by the hurricane. | | | | For more information on LAUS procedures and estimates for | | July 2008, see Hurricane Information: Katrina and Rita on the | | BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/Katrina/home.htm or call | | (202) 691-6392. | | | |__________________________________________________________________| - 4 - Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly differ- ent from that of the U.S., July 2008, seasonally adjusted -------------------------------------------------------------- State | Rate(p) -------------------------------------------------------------- United States (1) ................| 5.7 | Alaska ...........................| 6.9 Arkansas .........................| 4.5 California .......................| 7.3 Delaware .........................| 4.4 District of Columbia .............| 6.7 Hawaii ...........................| 3.9 Idaho ............................| 4.1 Illinois .........................| 7.3 Iowa .............................| 4.3 Kansas ...........................| 4.6 | Kentucky .........................| 6.7 Louisiana ........................| 3.9 Maryland .........................| 4.4 Michigan .........................| 8.5 Mississippi ......................| 7.9 Montana ..........................| 4.0 Nebraska .........................| 3.4 Nevada ...........................| 6.6 New Hampshire ....................| 3.9 New Mexico .......................| 4.1 | North Carolina ...................| 6.6 North Dakota .....................| 3.5 Ohio .............................| 7.2 Oklahoma .........................| 4.1 Rhode Island .....................| 7.7 South Carolina ...................| 7.0 South Dakota .....................| 3.0 Tennessee ........................| 6.9 Texas ............................| 4.7 Utah .............................| 3.5 | Vermont ..........................| 4.8 Virginia .........................| 4.4 West Virginia ....................| 4.5 Wisconsin ........................| 4.9 Wyoming ..........................| 3.6 -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Data are not preliminary. p = preliminary. - 5 - Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes from June 2008 to July 2008, seasonally adjusted -------------------------------------------------------------------- | Rate | |---------------------| Over-the-month State | June | July | rate change(p) | 2008 | 2008(p) | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Alabama ......................| 4.7 | 5.1 | 0.4 Arkansas .....................| 5.0 | 4.5 | -.5 California ...................| 7.0 | 7.3 | .3 District of Columbia .........| 6.3 | 6.7 | .4 Florida ......................| 5.5 | 6.1 | .6 Georgia ......................| 5.6 | 6.2 | .6 Idaho ........................| 3.8 | 4.1 | .3 Iowa .........................| 4.0 | 4.3 | .3 Kansas .......................| 4.3 | 4.6 | .3 Maryland .....................| 4.0 | 4.4 | .4 | | | Minnesota ....................| 5.3 | 5.8 | .5 Mississippi ..................| 7.0 | 7.9 | .9 Missouri .....................| 5.7 | 6.4 | .7 Nevada .......................| 6.4 | 6.6 | .2 North Carolina ...............| 5.9 | 6.6 | .7 North Dakota .................| 3.2 | 3.5 | .3 Ohio .........................| 6.6 | 7.2 | .6 Oregon .......................| 5.5 | 6.0 | .5 South Carolina ...............| 6.1 | 7.0 | .9 Tennessee ....................| 6.5 | 6.9 | .4 | | | Texas ........................| 4.4 | 4.7 | .3 Virginia .....................| 4.0 | 4.4 | .4 West Virginia ................| 5.3 | 4.5 | -.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. - 6 - Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes from July 2007 to July 2008, seasonally adjusted -------------------------------------------------------------------- | Rate | |----------|----------| Over-the-year State | July | July | rate change(p) | 2007 | 2008(p) | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Alabama ......................| 3.6 | 5.1 | 1.5 Alaska .......................| 6.2 | 6.9 | .7 Arizona ......................| 3.7 | 5.1 | 1.4 Arkansas .....................| 5.5 | 4.5 | -1.0 California ...................| 5.4 | 7.3 | 1.9 Colorado .....................| 3.8 | 5.2 | 1.4 Connecticut ..................| 4.5 | 5.8 | 1.3 Delaware .....................| 3.3 | 4.4 | 1.1 District of Columbia .........| 5.7 | 6.7 | 1.0 Florida ......................| 4.1 | 6.1 | 2.0 | | | Georgia ......................| 4.4 | 6.2 | 1.8 Hawaii .......................| 2.6 | 3.9 | 1.3 Idaho ........................| 2.7 | 4.1 | 1.4 Illinois .....................| 5.1 | 7.3 | 2.2 Indiana ......................| 4.4 | 6.3 | 1.9 Iowa .........................| 3.8 | 4.3 | .5 Kansas .......................| 4.1 | 4.6 | .5 Kentucky .....................| 5.5 | 6.7 | 1.2 Maine ........................| 4.8 | 5.4 | .6 Maryland .....................| 3.6 | 4.4 | .8 | | | Massachusetts ................| 4.4 | 5.1 | .7 Michigan .....................| 7.1 | 8.5 | 1.4 Minnesota ....................| 4.5 | 5.8 | 1.3 Mississippi ..................| 6.4 | 7.9 | 1.5 Missouri .....................| 5.1 | 6.4 | 1.3 Montana ......................| 3.1 | 4.0 | .9 Nebraska .....................| 3.1 | 3.4 | .3 Nevada .......................| 4.8 | 6.6 | 1.8 New Hampshire ................| 3.5 | 3.9 | .4 New Jersey ...................| 4.2 | 5.4 | 1.2 | | | New Mexico ...................| 3.5 | 4.1 | .6 New York .....................| 4.7 | 5.2 | .5 North Carolina ...............| 4.7 | 6.6 | 1.9 North Dakota .................| 3.2 | 3.5 | .3 Ohio .........................| 5.6 | 7.2 | 1.6 Oregon .......................| 5.3 | 6.0 | .7 Pennsylvania .................| 4.3 | 5.4 | 1.1 Rhode Island .................| 5.0 | 7.7 | 2.7 South Carolina ...............| 5.8 | 7.0 | 1.2 Tennessee ....................| 4.6 | 6.9 | 2.3 | | | Texas ........................| 4.3 | 4.7 | .4 Utah .........................| 2.7 | 3.5 | .8 Vermont ......................| 3.8 | 4.8 | 1.0 Virginia .....................| 3.0 | 4.4 | 1.4 Washington ...................| 4.6 | 5.7 | 1.1 -------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. - 7 - Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from June 2008 to July 2008, seasonally adjusted ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | June | July | Over-the-month State | 2008 | 2008(p) | change(p) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Arizona ......................| 2,639,100 | 2,625,000 | -14,100 District of Columbia .........| 704,600 | 711,300 | 6,700 Georgia ......................| 4,151,500 | 4,132,600 | -18,900 Indiana ......................| 2,986,500 | 2,970,000 | -16,500 Kansas .......................| 1,380,200 | 1,389,000 | 8,800 Kentucky .....................| 1,875,800 | 1,887,100 | 11,300 South Dakota .................| 410,400 | 414,200 | 3,800 Utah .........................| 1,265,400 | 1,259,000 | -6,400 | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from July 2007 to July 2008, seasonally adjusted ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | July | July | Over-the-year State | 2007 | 2008(p) | change(p) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | Arizona ......................| 2,666,300 | 2,625,000 | -41,300 Colorado .....................| 2,334,900 | 2,365,700 | 30,800 Florida ......................| 8,020,800 | 7,924,000 | -96,800 Michigan .....................| 4,261,200 | 4,212,500 | -48,700 North Carolina ...............| 4,136,200 | 4,174,500 | 38,300 Rhode Island .................| 493,600 | 480,600 | -13,000 Texas ........................| 10,381,000| 10,629,700 | 248,700 | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ p = preliminary.
- Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Technical Note
- Table 1. Civilian labor force and unemployment by census region and division, seasonally adjusted
- Table 2. Civilian labor force and unemployment by census region and division, not seasonally adjusted
- Table 3. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and selected area, seasonally adjusted
- Table 4. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and selected area, not seasonally adjusted
- Table 5. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and selected industry sector, seasonally adjusted
- Table 6. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and selected industry sector, not seasonally adjusted
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Last Modified Date: August 15, 2008