Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
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.
- 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: April 17, 2009