Technical information:
Employment: (202) 691-6559 USDL 09-0391
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, April 17, 2009
REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: MARCH 2009
Regional and state unemployment rates were nearly all higher in
March. Forty-six states recorded over-the-month unemployment rate
increases, North Dakota and the District of Columbia registered rate
decreases, and 3 states had no change in their rate, the Bureau of
Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
Over the year, jobless rates were up in all 50 states and the
District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate rose from 8.1
percent in February to 8.5 percent in March, which was 3.4 percent-
age points higher than in March 2008.
In March 2009, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 48 states
and the District of Columbia and rose in 2 states. The largest over-
the-month employment decrease occurred in California (-62,100), fol-
lowed by Florida (-51,900), Texas (-47,100), North Carolina (-41,300),
Illinois (-39,600), and Ohio (-37,500). North Carolina experienced
the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment (-1.0
percent), followed by Idaho, Minnesota, and Washington (-0.9 percent
each) and Delaware, Nebraska, and Oregon (-0.8 percent each). The 2
states to show an over-the-month increase in employment were Mississippi
(+300 or less than +0.1 percent) and North Dakota (+300 or +0.1 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment decreased in 46 states and increased
in 4 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-year
percentage decreases in employment occurred in Arizona (-7.0 percent),
Michigan (-6.4 percent), Florida, Nevada, and Oregon (-5.4 percent
each), and Idaho and North Carolina (-5.0 percent each). The over-
the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in the District
of Columbia (+0.8 percent), Alaska (+0.7 percent), North Dakota (+0.3
percent), and Louisiana and Wyoming (+0.2 percent each).
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In March, the West posted the highest regional jobless rate, 9.8
percent, followed by the Midwest, at 9.0 percent. The Northeast re-
corded the lowest rate, 7.9 percent. The West reported the largest
over-the-month rate increase (+0.6 percentage point), while the Midwest
and South registered smaller, but also statistically significant, rate
increases (+0.4 and +0.3 point, respectively). All four regions re-
ported significant jobless rate increases from March 2008, the larg-
est of which was recorded in the West (+4.3 percentage points).
(See table 1.)
- 2 -
Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific and East North
Central reported the highest unemployment rates in March, 10.8 and
10.0 percent, respectively. The West South Central registered the
lowest jobless rate, 6.5 percent. Five of the 9 divisions experi-
enced statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate
changes, all of which were increases: the Pacific (+0.7 percent-
age point), East South Central (+0.6 point), East North Central
(+0.5 point), Mountain (+0.3 point), and West South Central (+0.2
point). All nine divisions had significant over-the-year rate in-
creases, with the Pacific recording the largest (+4.8 percentage
points).
State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In March, Michigan again reported the highest jobless rate, 12.6
percent. The states with the next highest rates were Oregon, 12.1
percent; South Carolina, 11.4 percent; California, 11.2 percent;
North Carolina, 10.8 percent; Rhode Island, 10.5 percent; Nevada,
10.4 percent; and Indiana, 10.0 percent. Nine additional states and
the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rates of at least 9.0
percent. The California and North Carolina rates were the highest on
record for those states. (All state series begin in 1976.) North
Dakota registered the lowest unemployment rate, 4.2 percent, in March.
Overall, 12 states and the District of Columbia had significantly
higher jobless rates than the U.S. figure of 8.5 percent, 25 states
reported measurably lower rates, and 13 states had rates little dif-
ferent from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)
Twenty states recorded statistically significant over-the-month
unemployment rate increases in March. Oregon reported the largest
of these (+1.4 percentage points), followed by Washington and West
Virginia (+0.9 point each). Thirty states and the District of
Columbia registered March unemployment rates that were not appreci-
ably 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.)
Oregon reported the largest jobless rate increase from a year
earlier (+6.6 percentage points), followed by South Carolina (+5.5
points), North Carolina (+5.4 points), and Michigan (+5.0 points).
Eight additional states recorded rate increases of 4.0 percentage
points or more, and 17 other states and the District of Columbia
posted over-the-year rate increases of at least 3.0 percentage
points. The remaining 21 states had smaller, but also statisti-
cally significant, rate increases from March 2008.
Nonfarm payroll employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Between February and March 2009, 32 states experienced statisti-
cally significant changes in employment, all of which were decreases.
The largest statistically significant decreases occurred in California
(-62,100), Florida (-51,900), Texas (-47,100), and North Carolina
(-41,300). (See tables C and 5.)
- 3 -
Over the year, 41 states experienced statistically significant
changes in employment, all of which were decreases. The largest de-
creases occurred in California (-637,400), Florida (-424,300), Michigan
(-270,500), Illinois (-232,600), Ohio (-229,500), and North Carolina
(-210,000). Two states recorded statistically significant changes that
were less than 15,000: Vermont (-13,300) and Montana (-8,300). (See
table D.)
______________________________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for March
is scheduled to be issued on Wednesday, April 29. The Regional and
State Employment and Unemployment release for April is scheduled to be
issued on Friday, May 22.
- 4 -
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly differ-
ent from that of the U.S., March 2009, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 8.5
|
Arkansas ............................| 6.5
California ..........................| 11.2
Colorado ............................| 7.5
Connecticut .........................| 7.5
Delaware ............................| 7.7
District of Columbia ................| 9.8
Florida .............................| 9.7
Hawaii ..............................| 7.1
Idaho ...............................| 7.0
Indiana .............................| 10.0
|
Iowa ................................| 5.2
Kansas ..............................| 6.1
Kentucky ............................| 9.8
Louisiana ...........................| 5.8
Maryland ............................| 6.9
Michigan ............................| 12.6
Montana .............................| 6.1
Nebraska ............................| 4.6
Nevada ..............................| 10.4
New Hampshire .......................| 6.2
|
New Mexico ..........................| 5.9
New York ............................| 7.8
North Carolina ......................| 10.8
North Dakota ........................| 4.2
Ohio ................................| 9.7
Oklahoma ............................| 5.9
Oregon ..............................| 12.1
Pennsylvania ........................| 7.8
Rhode Island ........................| 10.5
South Carolina ......................| 11.4
|
South Dakota ........................| 4.9
Tennessee ...........................| 9.6
Texas ...............................| 6.7
Utah ................................| 5.2
Vermont .............................| 7.2
Virginia ............................| 6.8
West Virginia .......................| 6.9
Wyoming .............................| 4.5
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Data are not preliminary.
p = preliminary.
- 5 -
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from February 2009 to March 2009, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------------------| Over-the-month
State | February | March | rate change(p)
| 2009 | 2009(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 8.4 | 9.0 | 0.6
Alaska .........................| 7.9 | 8.5 | .6
California .....................| 10.6 | 11.2 | .6
Delaware .......................| 7.3 | 7.7 | .4
Hawaii .........................| 6.5 | 7.1 | .6
Indiana ........................| 9.4 | 10.0 | .6
Iowa ...........................| 4.9 | 5.2 | .3
Kentucky .......................| 9.3 | 9.8 | .5
Michigan .......................| 12.0 | 12.6 | .6
Nebraska .......................| 4.3 | 4.6 | .3
| | |
New Hampshire ..................| 5.7 | 6.2 | .5
New Mexico .....................| 5.4 | 5.9 | .5
Oregon .........................| 10.7 | 12.1 | 1.4
South Dakota ...................| 4.6 | 4.9 | .3
Tennessee ......................| 9.0 | 9.6 | .6
Texas ..........................| 6.5 | 6.7 | .2
Washington .....................| 8.3 | 9.2 | .9
West Virginia ..................| 6.0 | 6.9 | .9
Wisconsin ......................| 7.8 | 8.5 | .7
Wyoming ........................| 3.9 | 4.5 | .6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
- 6 -
Table C. States with statistically significant employment changes from
February 2009 to March 2009, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| February | March | Over-the-month
State | 2009 | 2009(p) | change(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona.......................| 2,483,200 | 2,466,400 | -16,800
Arkansas......................| 1,185,900 | 1,179,500 | -6,400
California....................| 14,536,800 | 14,474,700 | -62,100
Colorado......................| 2,297,200 | 2,284,600 | -12,600
Connecticut...................| 1,658,500 | 1,651,400 | -7,100
Delaware......................| 420,300 | 417,100 | -3,200
Florida.......................| 7,498,900 | 7,447,000 | -51,900
Idaho.........................| 625,900 | 620,500 | -5,400
Illinois......................| 5,783,600 | 5,744,000 | -39,600
Indiana.......................| 2,865,300 | 2,848,100 | -17,200
| | |
Iowa..........................| 1,504,100 | 1,493,400 | -10,700
Maryland......................| 2,559,700 | 2,549,500 | -10,200
Massachusetts.................| 3,215,000 | 3,194,700 | -20,300
Michigan......................| 3,963,100 | 3,940,500 | -22,600
Minnesota.....................| 2,696,300 | 2,673,100 | -23,200
Missouri......................| 2,747,900 | 2,736,800 | -11,100
Nebraska......................| 955,000 | 946,900 | -8,100
New Jersey....................| 3,973,300 | 3,956,100 | -17,200
New York......................| 8,674,500 | 8,640,400 | -34,100
North Carolina................| 3,997,300 | 3,956,000 | -41,300
| | |
Ohio..........................| 5,194,700 | 5,157,200 | -37,500
Oklahoma......................| 1,584,400 | 1,574,700 | -9,700
Oregon........................| 1,653,800 | 1,639,800 | -14,000
Pennsylvania..................| 5,708,200 | 5,677,700 | -30,500
South Carolina................| 1,864,400 | 1,853,300 | -11,100
Tennessee.....................| 2,697,300 | 2,678,400 | -18,900
Texas.........................| 10,522,900 | 10,475,800 | -47,100
Utah..........................| 1,233,700 | 1,225,800 | -7,900
Vermont.......................| 296,700 | 294,600 | -2,100
Washington....................| 2,902,400 | 2,875,700 | -26,700
West Virginia.................| 748,800 | 744,100 | -4,700
Wisconsin.....................| 2,793,200 | 2,773,700 | -19,500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
- 7 -
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
March 2008 to March 2009, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
| March | March | Over-the-year
State | 2008 | 2009(p) | change(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.......................| 2,004,800 | 1,920,300 | -84,500
Arizona.......................| 2,652,500 | 2,466,400 | -186,100
Arkansas......................| 1,205,800 | 1,179,500 | -26,300
California....................| 15,112,100 | 14,474,700 | -637,400
Colorado......................| 2,354,500 | 2,284,600 | -69,900
Connecticut...................| 1,709,400 | 1,651,400 | -58,000
Delaware......................| 436,400 | 417,100 | -19,300
Florida.......................| 7,871,300 | 7,447,000 | -424,300
Georgia.......................| 4,140,900 | 3,957,900 | -183,000
Hawaii........................| 626,200 | 606,800 | -19,400
| | |
Idaho.........................| 653,500 | 620,500 | -33,000
Illinois......................| 5,976,600 | 5,744,000 | -232,600
Indiana.......................| 2,969,300 | 2,848,100 | -121,200
Iowa..........................| 1,525,800 | 1,493,400 | -32,400
Kansas........................| 1,392,700 | 1,372,200 | -20,500
Kentucky......................| 1,861,200 | 1,798,500 | -62,700
Maine.........................| 619,500 | 602,500 | -17,000
Maryland......................| 2,607,700 | 2,549,500 | -58,200
Massachusetts.................| 3,300,400 | 3,194,700 | -105,700
Michigan......................| 4,211,000 | 3,940,500 | -270,500
| | |
Minnesota.....................| 2,773,800 | 2,673,100 | -100,700
Mississippi...................| 1,155,900 | 1,118,500 | -37,400
Missouri......................| 2,794,600 | 2,736,800 | -57,800
Montana.......................| 447,000 | 438,700 | -8,300
Nevada........................| 1,278,700 | 1,209,300 | -69,400
New Jersey....................| 4,086,400 | 3,956,100 | -130,300
New York......................| 8,800,900 | 8,640,400 | -160,500
North Carolina................| 4,166,000 | 3,956,000 | -210,000
Ohio..........................| 5,386,700 | 5,157,200 | -229,500
Oregon........................| 1,733,800 | 1,639,800 | -94,000
| | |
Pennsylvania..................| 5,810,500 | 5,677,700 | -132,800
Rhode Island..................| 487,300 | 465,300 | -22,000
South Carolina................| 1,945,600 | 1,853,300 | -92,300
Tennessee.....................| 2,801,600 | 2,678,400 | -123,200
Texas.........................| 10,582,300 | 10,475,800 | -106,500
Utah..........................| 1,258,800 | 1,225,800 | -33,000
Vermont.......................| 307,900 | 294,600 | -13,300
Virginia......................| 3,767,700 | 3,679,000 | -88,700
Washington....................| 2,970,700 | 2,875,700 | -95,000
West Virginia.................| 760,700 | 744,100 | -16,600
Wisconsin.....................| 2,885,200 | 2,773,700 | -111,500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
