March 05, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Lowest State unemployment rates in 2006

In 2006, Hawaii again reported the lowest unemployment rate among the States, 2.4 percent.

States with the lowest unemployment rates, 2006
[Chart data—TXT]

Utah had the next lowest rate, 2.9 percent, followed by Nebraska and Virginia at 3.0 percent each. Twelve additional States registered annual average unemployment rates below 4.0 percent.

Altogether, 20 States had jobless rates that were significantly below the U.S. rate of 4.6 percent, while 12 states and the District of Columbia recorded rates that were appreciably above it. The rates for 18 States were not significantly different from the overall U.S. rate.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. To learn more, see Regional and State Unemployment, 2006 Annual Averages (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 07-0305.