For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, January 18, 2013 USDL-13-0059
Technical information:
Employment: (202) 691-6559 * sminfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/sae
Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 * lausinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/lau
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- DECEMBER 2012
Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in December.
Twenty-two states recorded unemployment rate decreases, 16 states and the
District of Columbia posted increases, and 12 states had no change, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-two states and the District
of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, six
states experienced increases, and two states had no change. The national
jobless rate, 7.8 percent, was unchanged from November and was 0.7 percentage
point lower than in December 2011.
In December 2012, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 27 states and the
District of Columbia and decreased in 23 states. The largest over-the-month
increase in employment occurred in New York (+35,100), followed by New Jersey
(+30,200), Georgia (+14,400), and Missouri (+10,200). The largest over-the-month
decrease in employment occurred in California (-17,500), followed by Florida
(-15,300), Louisiana (-11,400), and Michigan (-10,600). New Jersey experienced
the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+0.8 percent),
followed by Kansas (+0.6 percent) and Alaska, Georgia, Missouri, and New York
(+0.4 percent each). Hawaii experienced the largest over-the-month percentage
decline in employment (-0.7 percent), followed by Louisiana and Wyoming (-0.6
percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 44 states and
decreased in 6 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-year
percentage increases occurred in North Dakota (+3.6 percent) and Utah (+3.0
percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred
in West Virginia (-1.8 percent).
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
The West continued to record the highest regional unemployment rate in December,
8.6 percent, while the Midwest again reported the lowest rate, 7.1 percent.
Over the month, no region experienced a statistically significant unemployment
rate change. In contrast, significant over-the-year rate changes occurred in
three regions: the South and West (-1.2 percentage points each) and the Midwest
(-0.8 point). (See table 1.)
Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific continued to report the
highest jobless rate, 9.2 percent in December. The West North Central again
registered the lowest rate, 5.4 percent. No division recorded a statistically
significant over-the-month unemployment rate change. Seven divisions had
measurable rate changes from a year earlier, all of which were decreases.
The largest of these declines occurred in the West South Central (-1.3
percentage points).
State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Nevada and Rhode Island recorded the highest unemployment rates among the
states in December, 10.2 percent each. North Dakota again registered the
lowest jobless rate, 3.2 percent. In total, 25 states reported jobless
rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 7.8 percent, 8 states had
measurably higher rates, and 17 states and the District of Columbia had
rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See
tables A and 3.)
Nevada reported the largest over-the-month unemployment rate decrease in
December (-0.6 percentage point). Four other states also had statistically
significant rate decreases: Alabama (-0.4 percentage point), Connecticut
(-0.3 point), Idaho (-0.2 point), and Vermont (-0.1 point). The remaining
45 states and the District of Columbia recorded jobless rates that were
not measurably different from those of a month earlier, though some had
changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia reported statistically
significant unemployment rate changes from December 2011, all of which
were declines. The largest of these occurred in Nevada (-2.8 percentage
points), followed by Florida (-1.9 points) and Mississippi (-1.8 points).
(See table B.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In December 2012, nine states recorded statistically significant over-
the-month changes in employment, six of which were increases. The largest
statistically significant job gains occurred in New York (+35,100), New
Jersey (+30,200), Georgia (+14,400), and Missouri (+10,200). The largest
statistically significant job decreases occurred in Louisiana (-11,400)
and Michigan (-10,600). (See table C.)
Over the year, 30 states experienced statistically significant changes
in employment; only West Virginia’s employment decreased (-13,900). The
largest over-the-year jobs increase occurred in Texas (+260,800), followed
by California (+225,900) and New York (+123,600). (See table D.)
___________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for
December 2012 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, January 30,
2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Regional and State Unemployment 2012
Annual Averages news release is scheduled to be released on Friday,
March 1, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Regional and State Employment
and Unemployment news release for January 2013 is scheduled to be
released on Monday, March 18, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
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| |
| Upcoming Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of 2012 annual average estimates on |
| March 1st, the labor force data for regions, divisions, states, |
| District of Columbia, and the modeled substate areas presented |
| in tables 1-4 of this news release will be revised to incorporate |
| updated inputs, new population controls, reestimation of models, |
| and adjustments to new division and national control totals. |
| Revised seasonal adjustment factors will apply to data in tables |
| 1 and 3. Both not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted |
| data are subject to revision back to 2008. The new population |
| controls will reflect the annual updating of population estimates |
| by the U.S. Census Bureau. |
| |
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| |
| Upcoming Changes to Current Employment Statistics (CES) |
| Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2013 data on Monday, March |
| 18th, all nonfarm payroll employment estimates for states and |
| areas presented in tables 5 and 6 of this news release will be |
| adjusted to 2012 benchmark levels. Seasonally adjusted series |
| will be subject to revision from 1990 forward. Not seasonally |
| adjusted payroll data back to April 2011 will also be subject |
| to revision. |
| |
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| |
| Current Employment Statistics Data Error |
| |
| BLS has identified errors in the local government employment |
| data for Shreveport-Bossier City, LA metropolitan statistical area|
| (43340). Local government data in this area has been corrected for|
| July and August 2010 in addition to the 2010 annual average value.|
| More information on this data correction and a complete listing |
| of corrections to the CES State and Area database can be found |
| at www.bls.gov/bls/errata/sae_errata.htm. |
| |
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Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., December 2012, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 7.8
|
Alaska ..............................| 6.6
California ..........................| 9.8
Delaware ............................| 6.9
Georgia .............................| 8.6
Hawaii ..............................| 5.2
Idaho ...............................| 6.6
Illinois ............................| 8.7
Iowa ................................| 4.9
Kansas ..............................| 5.4
Louisiana ...........................| 5.5
|
Maryland ............................| 6.6
Massachusetts .......................| 6.7
Michigan ............................| 8.9
Minnesota ...........................| 5.5
Missouri ............................| 6.7
Montana .............................| 5.7
Nebraska ............................| 3.7
Nevada ..............................| 10.2
New Hampshire .......................| 5.7
New Jersey ..........................| 9.6
|
New Mexico ..........................| 6.4
North Carolina ......................| 9.2
North Dakota ........................| 3.2
Ohio ................................| 6.7
Oklahoma ............................| 5.1
Rhode Island ........................| 10.2
South Dakota ........................| 4.4
Texas ...............................| 6.1
Utah ................................| 5.2
Vermont .............................| 5.1
|
Virginia ............................| 5.5
Wisconsin ...........................| 6.6
Wyoming .............................| 4.9
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Data are not preliminary.
p = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from December 2011 to December 2012, seasonally adjusted
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| Rate |
|-----------------------| Over-the-year
State | December | December | change(p)
| 2011 | 2012(p) |
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California .....................| 11.2 | 9.8 | -1.4
District of Columbia ...........| 10.1 | 8.5 | -1.6
Florida ........................| 9.9 | 8.0 | -1.9
Georgia ........................| 9.4 | 8.6 | -.8
Hawaii .........................| 6.6 | 5.2 | -1.4
Idaho ..........................| 8.3 | 6.6 | -1.7
Illinois .......................| 9.7 | 8.7 | -1.0
Iowa ...........................| 5.6 | 4.9 | -.7
Kansas .........................| 6.4 | 5.4 | -1.0
Louisiana ......................| 7.0 | 5.5 | -1.5
| | |
Mississippi ....................| 10.4 | 8.6 | -1.8
Missouri .......................| 8.0 | 6.7 | -1.3
Montana ........................| 6.6 | 5.7 | -.9
Nevada .........................| 13.0 | 10.2 | -2.8
North Carolina .................| 10.4 | 9.2 | -1.2
Ohio ...........................| 7.9 | 6.7 | -1.2
Oklahoma .......................| 6.3 | 5.1 | -1.2
South Carolina .................| 9.6 | 8.4 | -1.2
Texas ..........................| 7.4 | 6.1 | -1.3
Washington .....................| 8.6 | 7.6 | -1.0
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p = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant employment changes from
November 2012 to December 2012, seasonally adjusted
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| November | December | Over-the-month
State | 2012 | 2012(p) | change(p)
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Georgia.......................| 3,956,700 | 3,971,100 | 14,400
Hawaii........................| 612,400 | 608,400 | -4,000
Kansas........................| 1,343,300 | 1,350,700 | 7,400
Louisiana.....................| 1,961,900 | 1,950,500 | -11,400
Michigan......................| 3,983,900 | 3,973,300 | -10,600
Minnesota.....................| 2,726,100 | 2,735,200 | 9,100
Missouri......................| 2,662,500 | 2,672,700 | 10,200
New Jersey....................| 3,892,400 | 3,922,600 | 30,200
New York......................| 8,805,500 | 8,840,600 | 35,100
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p = preliminary.
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
December 2011 to December 2012, seasonally adjusted
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| December | December | Over-the-year
State | 2011 | 2012(p) | change(p)
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Arizona.......................| 2,415,000 | 2,479,300 | 64,300
California....................| 14,172,900 | 14,398,800 | 225,900
Colorado......................| 2,265,300 | 2,316,600 | 51,300
Florida.......................| 7,333,200 | 7,388,100 | 54,900
Georgia.......................| 3,897,000 | 3,971,100 | 74,100
Hawaii........................| 596,500 | 608,400 | 11,900
Idaho.........................| 610,600 | 623,900 | 13,300
Illinois......................| 5,676,000 | 5,717,900 | 41,900
Indiana.......................| 2,849,600 | 2,906,800 | 57,200
Kentucky......................| 1,804,300 | 1,833,300 | 29,000
| | |
Louisiana.....................| 1,927,000 | 1,950,500 | 23,500
Massachusetts.................| 3,211,800 | 3,263,400 | 51,600
Minnesota.....................| 2,683,300 | 2,735,200 | 51,900
Missouri......................| 2,632,500 | 2,672,700 | 40,200
Montana.......................| 424,200 | 435,400 | 11,200
New Jersey....................| 3,874,600 | 3,922,600 | 48,000
New York......................| 8,717,000 | 8,840,600 | 123,600
North Carolina................| 3,932,200 | 4,004,600 | 72,400
North Dakota..................| 406,800 | 421,300 | 14,500
Ohio..........................| 5,094,300 | 5,185,000 | 90,700
| | |
Oklahoma......................| 1,565,300 | 1,600,500 | 35,200
Oregon........................| 1,619,500 | 1,639,000 | 19,500
Pennsylvania..................| 5,712,800 | 5,751,500 | 38,700
South Carolina................| 1,840,400 | 1,879,100 | 38,700
Tennessee.....................| 2,673,500 | 2,709,900 | 36,400
Texas.........................| 10,643,200 | 10,904,000 | 260,800
Utah..........................| 1,223,000 | 1,260,100 | 37,100
Virginia......................| 3,702,700 | 3,734,000 | 31,300
Washington....................| 2,834,000 | 2,885,700 | 51,700
West Virginia.................| 760,800 | 746,900 | -13,900
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p = preliminary.
