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State unemployment rates, May 2012

June 19, 2012

In May 2012, 27 states had unemployment rates that were significantly lower than the U.S. rate of 8.2 percent, while five states and the District of Columbia recorded rates significantly above it. The remaining 18 states had unemployment rates that were not statistically different from the U.S. rate.

Unemployment rates by state, May 2012 annual averages
Unemployment rates by state, May 2012 annual averages (U.S. rate = 8.2 percent)
StateUnemployment rateDifference from U.S. rate

Alabama

7.4Not significantly different

Alaska

7.0Significantly below

Arizona

8.2Not significantly different

Arkansas

7.3Significantly below

California

10.8Significantly above

Colorado

8.1Not significantly different

Connecticut

7.8Not significantly different

Delaware

6.8Significantly below

District of Columbia

9.3Significantly above

Florida

8.6Not significantly different

Georgia

8.9Not significantly different

Hawaii

6.3Significantly below

Idaho

7.8Not significantly different

Illinois

8.6Not significantly different

Indiana

7.9Not significantly different

Iowa

5.1Significantly below

Kansas

6.1Significantly below

Kentucky

8.2Not significantly different

Louisiana

7.2Not significantly different

Maine

7.4Significantly below

Maryland

6.8Significantly below

Massachusetts

6.0Significantly below

Michigan

8.5Not significantly different

Minnesota

5.6Significantly below

Mississippi

8.7Not significantly different

Missouri

7.3Significantly below

Montana

6.3Significantly below

Nebraska

3.9Significantly below

Nevada

11.6Significantly above

New Hampshire

5.0Significantly below

New Jersey

9.2Significantly above

New Mexico

6.7Significantly below

New York

8.6Not significantly different

North Carolina

9.4Significantly above

North Dakota

3.0Significantly below

Ohio

7.3Significantly below

Oklahoma

4.8Significantly below

Oregon

8.4Not significantly different

Pennsylvania

7.4Significantly below

Rhode Island

11.0Significantly above

South Carolina

9.1Not significantly different

South Dakota

4.3Significantly below

Tennessee

7.9Not significantly different

Texas

6.9Significantly below

Utah

6.0Significantly below

Vermont

4.6Significantly below

Virginia

5.6Significantly below

Washington

8.3Not significantly different

West Virginia

6.9Significantly below

Wisconsin

6.8Significantly below

Wyoming

5.2Significantly below

These data are featured in the TED article, State unemployment rates, May 2012.

Nevada continued to record the highest unemployment rate among the states, 11.6 percent in May. Rhode Island and California posted the next highest rates, 11.0 and 10.8 percent, respectively. North Dakota again registered the lowest jobless rate, 3.0 percent, followed by Nebraska, 3.9 percent.

No state experienced a statistically significant unemployment rate change over the month. However, 28 states reported statistically significant rate changes from a year earlier, all of which were decreases. The largest of these occurred in Michigan and Nevada (−2.1 percentage points each) and Florida and Mississippi (−2.0 points each).

These unemployment data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Unemployment rates for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. For more information, see "Regional and State Unemployment — May 2012" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-12-1184.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, State unemployment rates, May 2012 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2012/ted_20120619.htm (visited March 19, 2024).

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