Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Technical information: Employment: (202) 691-6559 USDL 08-1496 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 Tuesday, October 21, 2008 (NOTE: This release was reissued on Friday, October 24, 2008, to correct Montana August 2008 total nonfarm, manufacturing, and government payroll employment data. These data appear in tables C, 5, and 6. Additionally, the analysis of employment data in the text was revised to reflect these corrections. The correc- tions did not affect any other tables in the release or the analysis of unemployment data.) REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: SEPTEMBER 2008 Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in September but up substantially over the year. Overall, 21 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 23 states registered decreases, and 6 states 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 was un- changed in September at 6.1 percent but was up from 4.7 percent a year earlier. In September, nonfarm payroll employment rose in 9 states and fell in 41 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-month gains in the level of employment occurred in Missouri (+3,800), Nebraska (+2,200), Wyoming (+1,800), West Virginia (+1,500), and Virginia (+1,300). Wyoming experienced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in em- ployment (+0.6 percent), followed by Nebraska and West Virginia (+0.2 per- cent each) and Arkansas, Missouri, and North Dakota (+0.1 percent each). The largest over-the-month employment level decreases occurred in Michigan (-28,300), Georgia (-22,300), Louisiana (-17,500), South Carolina (-14,800), and Arizona and Kentucky (-13,200 each). The District of Columbia (-1.2 percent) recorded the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employ- ment, followed by Louisiana (-0.9 percent), South Carolina (-0.8 percent), and Idaho, Kentucky, and Michigan (-0.7 percent each). Over the year, non- farm employment increased in 24 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 26 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in Wyoming (+2.8 percent), Texas (+2.4 percent), the District of Columbia (+2.0 percent), and South Dakota (+1.6 percent). Rhode Island recorded the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-2.6 percent), followed by Arizona (-2.2 percent), Michigan (-1.8 percent), Georgia (-1.5 percent), Florida (-1.4 percent), and Idaho (-1.2 percent). Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted) In September, the West and Midwest regions posted the highest jobless rates, 6.6 and 6.5 percent, respectively. The Northeast and South re- corded the lowest unemployment rates, 5.7 and 5.9 percent, respectively. No region registered a statistically significant unemployment rate change from the previous month. In contrast, all four regions reported signifi- cant jobless rate increases from September 2007: the West (+1.8 percent- age points), South (+1.5 points), Northeast (+1.3 points), and Midwest (+1.2 points). (See table 1.) - 2 - Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific and East North Central reported the highest unemployment rates in September, 7.2 and 7.0 percent, respectively. The West South Central again recorded the lowest jobless rate, 5.1 percent, followed closely by the Mountain and West North Central, at 5.2 percent each. No division reported a statistically significant over- the-month unemployment rate change. Over the year, however, all nine divi- sions had significant rate increases: the East South Central, Pacific, and South Atlantic (+1.8 percentage points each); Mountain (+1.5 points); East North Central and New England (+1.3 points each); Middle Atlantic (+1.2 points); West North Central (+0.8 point); and West South Central (+0.7 point). State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted) In September, Rhode Island and Michigan posted the highest jobless rates, 8.8 and 8.7 percent, respectively. Eight additional states recorded rates of 7.0 percent or more: Mississippi, 7.8 percent; California, 7.7 percent; Nevada and South Carolina, 7.3 percent each; Ohio and Tennessee, 7.2 per- cent each; Kentucky, 7.1 percent; and North Carolina, 7.0 percent. The District of Columbia also had a rate of 7.0 percent. South Dakota again registered the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2 percent, followed by Wyoming, at 3.3 percent, Nebraska and Utah, at 3.5 percent each, North Dakota, at 3.6 percent, and Oklahoma, at 3.8 percent. Overall, 11 states recorded significantly higher jobless rates than the U.S. figure of 6.1 percent, 23 states reported measurably lower rates, and 16 states and the District of Columbia had rates little different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.) Six states reported statistically significant over-the-month jobless rate increases in September: Tennessee (+0.6 percentage point), Idaho (+0.4 point), Hawaii (+0.3 point), Montana and Nevada (+0.2 point each), and Texas (+0.1 point). Four states had statistically significant unem- ployment rate decreases between August and September: New Mexico and Wyoming (-0.6 percentage point each) and Iowa and Virginia (-0.3 point each). The remaining 40 states and the District of Columbia registered September unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, even though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had statistically signi- ficant jobless rate increases from September 2007. Rhode Island reported the largest rate increase (+3.7 percentage points) from a year earlier. The states with the next largest rate increases were Florida (+2.4 points); Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, and Tennessee (+2.3 points each); Arizona and California (+2.1 points each); and Georgia (+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, and 12 additional states had smaller, but also statistically significant, rate increases from September 2007. Two states experienced statistically significant unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier--Arkansas (-0.6 percentage point) and Oklahoma (-0.5 point). The re- maining three states recorded September 2008 jobless rates that were not ap- preciably different from those of a year earlier. (See table B.) Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted) Between August and September 2008, 10 states and the District of Columbia registered statistically significant changes in employment, all of which were decreases. The statistically significant job losses occurred in Michigan (-28,300), Georgia (-22,300), Louisiana (-17,500), South Carolina (-14,800), Arizona and Kentucky (-13,200 each), Washington (-12,900), Wisconsin (-12,400), the District of Columbia (-8,500), Oregon (-7,300), and Idaho (-4,900). (See tables C and 5.) - 3 - Over the year, eight states experienced statistically significant changes in employment. The largest statistically significant job gain occurred in Texas (+247,900), followed by Nebraska (+12,800) and Wyoming (+8,200). The sta- tistically significant over-the-year decreases occurred in Florida (-115,500), Michigan (-77,900), Georgia (-61,100), Arizona (-59,200), and Rhode Island (-12,600). (See table D.) ______________________________ The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for September is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, October 29. The Regional and State Employ- ment and Unemployment release for October is scheduled to be issued on Friday, November 21. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Recent Tropical Storms | | | | Hurricane Ike struck the east coast of Texas and portions of coastal | |Louisiana on September 13th in the midst of the establishment survey re- | |ference period. For the weather conditions to have affected payroll em- | |ployment, people would have had to be off work for the entire pay period | |and not paid for the time missed. Therefore, it is unlikely the storm | |had substantial effects on the state employment estimates. | | | | In the Current Population Survey of households, which provides inputs | |for the model-based estimation of labor force and unemployment for the | |areas included in this release, people who miss work for weather-related | |events are counted as employed whether or not they are paid for the time | |off. | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Hurricane Katrina | | | | For September, BLS and its state partners continued to make modifica- | |tions to the usual estimation procedures for the LAUS program to reflect | |the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the labor force statistics in affected| |areas. These modifications included: (1) modifying the state population| |controls to account for displacement due to Katrina; (2) developing labor| |force estimates for the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area | |using an alternative to the model-based method; and (3) not publishing | |labor force estimates for the months immediately following the hurricane | |for the parishes within the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area| |and cities within those parishes, where the quality of input data was | |severely compromised by the hurricane. | | | | For more information on LAUS procedures and estimates for September | |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., September 2008, seasonally adjusted -------------------------------------------------------------- State | Rate(p) -------------------------------------------------------------- United States (1) ...................| 6.1 | Arkansas ............................| 4.9 California ..........................| 7.7 Colorado ............................| 5.2 Delaware ............................| 4.8 Hawaii ..............................| 4.5 Idaho ...............................| 5.0 Illinois ............................| 6.9 Iowa ................................| 4.2 Kansas ..............................| 4.8 Kentucky ............................| 7.1 | Maryland ............................| 4.6 Massachusetts .......................| 5.3 Michigan ............................| 8.7 Mississippi .........................| 7.8 Montana .............................| 4.6 Nebraska ............................| 3.5 Nevada ..............................| 7.3 New Hampshire .......................| 4.1 New Mexico ..........................| 4.0 North Carolina ......................| 7.0 | North Dakota ........................| 3.6 Ohio ................................| 7.2 Oklahoma ............................| 3.8 Rhode Island ........................| 8.8 South Carolina ......................| 7.3 South Dakota ........................| 3.2 Tennessee ...........................| 7.2 Texas ...............................| 5.1 Utah ................................| 3.5 Vermont .............................| 5.2 | Virginia ............................| 4.3 West Virginia .......................| 4.5 Wisconsin ...........................| 5.0 Wyoming .............................| 3.3 -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Data are not preliminary. p = preliminary. - 5 - Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes from September 2007 to September 2008, seasonally adjusted ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Rate | |-----------|-----------| Over-the-year State | September | September | rate change(p) | 2007 | 2008(p) | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alabama ........................| 3.5 | 5.3 | 1.8 Alaska .........................| 6.3 | 6.8 | .5 Arizona ........................| 3.8 | 5.9 | 2.1 Arkansas .......................| 5.5 | 4.9 | -.6 California .....................| 5.6 | 7.7 | 2.1 Colorado .......................| 4.0 | 5.2 | 1.2 Connecticut ....................| 4.6 | 6.1 | 1.5 Delaware .......................| 3.3 | 4.8 | 1.5 District of Columbia ...........| 5.7 | 7.0 | 1.3 Florida ........................| 4.2 | 6.6 | 2.4 | | | Georgia ........................| 4.5 | 6.5 | 2.0 Hawaii .........................| 2.8 | 4.5 | 1.7 Idaho ..........................| 2.7 | 5.0 | 2.3 Illinois .......................| 5.2 | 6.9 | 1.7 Indiana ........................| 4.5 | 6.2 | 1.7 Iowa ...........................| 3.8 | 4.2 | .4 Kansas .........................| 4.0 | 4.8 | .8 Kentucky .......................| 5.4 | 7.1 | 1.7 Louisiana ......................| 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.3 Maine ..........................| 4.9 | 5.6 | .7 | | | Maryland .......................| 3.6 | 4.6 | 1.0 Massachusetts ..................| 4.4 | 5.3 | .9 Michigan .......................| 7.3 | 8.7 | 1.4 Minnesota ......................| 4.6 | 5.9 | 1.3 Mississippi ....................| 6.3 | 7.8 | 1.5 Missouri .......................| 5.3 | 6.4 | 1.1 Montana ........................| 3.2 | 4.6 | 1.4 Nebraska .......................| 3.1 | 3.5 | .4 Nevada .........................| 5.0 | 7.3 | 2.3 New Hampshire ..................| 3.4 | 4.1 | .7 | | | New Jersey .....................| 4.2 | 5.8 | 1.6 New Mexico .....................| 3.4 | 4.0 | .6 New York .......................| 4.5 | 5.8 | 1.3 North Carolina .................| 4.7 | 7.0 | 2.3 North Dakota ...................| 3.3 | 3.6 | .3 Ohio ...........................| 5.7 | 7.2 | 1.5 Oklahoma .......................| 4.3 | 3.8 | -.5 Oregon .........................| 5.3 | 6.4 | 1.1 Pennsylvania ...................| 4.4 | 5.7 | 1.3 Rhode Island ...................| 5.1 | 8.8 | 3.7 | | | South Carolina .................| 5.9 | 7.3 | 1.4 South Dakota ...................| 2.9 | 3.2 | .3 Tennessee ......................| 4.9 | 7.2 | 2.3 Texas ..........................| 4.3 | 5.1 | .8 Utah ...........................| 2.8 | 3.5 | .7 Vermont ........................| 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.3 Virginia .......................| 3.1 | 4.3 | 1.2 Washington .....................| 4.6 | 5.8 | 1.2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. - 6 - Table C. States with statistically significant employment changes from August 2008 to September 2008, seasonally adjusted -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | August | September | Over-the-month State | 2008 | 2008(p) | change(p) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona.......................| 2,624,700 | 2,611,500 | -13,200 District of Columbia..........| 716,300 | 707,800 | -8,500 Georgia.......................| 4,115,100 | 4,092,800 | -22,300 Idaho.........................| 653,900 | 649,000 | -4,900 Kentucky......................| 1,877,400 | 1,864,200 | -13,200 Louisiana.....................| 1,956,800 | 1,939,300 | -17,500 Michigan......................| 4,199,900 | 4,171,600 | -28,300 Oregon........................| 1,729,400 | 1,722,100 | -7,300 South Carolina................| 1,960,800 | 1,946,000 | -14,800 Washington....................| 2,971,300 | 2,958,400 | -12,900 Wisconsin.....................| 2,874,400 | 2,862,000 | -12,400 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- p = preliminary. Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from September 2007 to September 2008, seasonally adjusted ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | September | September | Over-the-year State | 2007 | 2008(p) | change(p) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arizona.......................| 2,670,700 | 2,611,500 | -59,200 Florida.......................| 8,014,500 | 7,899,000 | -115,500 Georgia.......................| 4,153,900 | 4,092,800 | -61,100 Michigan......................| 4,249,500 | 4,171,600 | -77,900 Nebraska......................| 965,800 | 978,600 | 12,800 Rhode Island..................| 490,800 | 478,200 | -12,600 Texas.........................| 10,394,700 | 10,642,600 | 247,900 Wyoming.......................| 290,100 | 298,300 | 8,200 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
- HTML version of the entire news release
The PDF version of the news release
Table of Contents
Last Modified Date: October 24, 2008