March 07, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

2004 – 2005 changes in State unemployment rates

Annual average unemployment rates decreased from 2004 to 2005 in 39 states and the District of Columbia, rose in 9 states, and were unchanged in 2 states.

Change in annual average unemployment rate by State, 2004 - 2005
[Chart data—TXT]

The largest unemployment rate increases for 2005 were recorded by the two states most affected by Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi (+1.6 percentage points) and Louisiana (+1.4 points). The next largest rate increases were registered in Kentucky (+0.6 percentage point) and Georgia (+0.5 point).

The largest rate declines occurred in Alabama and Oregon (-1.2 percentage points each) and Florida and Idaho (-0.9 point each). Fifteen additional states reported over-the-year rate decreases of at least one-half percentage point. The District of Columbia's jobless rate decreased by 1.0 percentage point.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. To learn more, see State and Regional Unemployment, 2005 Annual Averages (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-362.

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