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Lowest unemployment rates in South Dakota and New Hampshire, August 2016

September 23, 2016

In August 2016, South Dakota and New Hampshire had the lowest unemployment rates among the 50 states, 2.9 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. Jobless rates were under 4.0 percent in ten other states: North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Virginia.

Unemployment by state, August 2016, seasonally adjusted
State Unemployment rate (percent) Number of unemployed

South Dakota

2.9 13,133

New Hampshire

3.0 22,485

North Dakota

3.1 13,022

Nebraska

3.2 32,286

Vermont

3.3 11,446

Hawaii

3.4 23,547

Utah

3.7 54,828

Colorado

3.8 109,097

Idaho

3.8 30,973

Arkansas

3.9 53,170

Massachusetts

3.9 141,715

Virginia

3.9 162,545

Maine

4.0 27,844

Minnesota

4.0 121,424

Iowa

4.2 72,703

Wisconsin

4.2 131,141

Delaware

4.3 20,701

Kansas

4.3 63,718

Maryland

4.3 135,245

Montana

4.3 22,558

Tennessee

4.4 138,277

Indiana

4.5 152,905

Michigan

4.5 216,398

North Carolina

4.6 221,746

Florida

4.7 453,772

Ohio

4.7 271,585

Texas

4.7 621,806

New York

4.8 461,366

Georgia

4.9 241,737

Kentucky

4.9 97,004

Missouri

5.1 157,951

Oklahoma

5.1 92,200

South Carolina

5.1 116,998

New Jersey

5.3 242,500

Alabama

5.4 116,361

Oregon

5.4 111,889

California

5.5 1,060,636

Illinois

5.5 363,672

Wyoming

5.5 16,574

Connecticut

5.6 106,135

Rhode Island

5.6 30,945

Pennsylvania

5.7 369,715

Washington

5.7 207,961

West Virginia

5.7 44,751

Arizona

5.8 187,003

District of Columbia

6.0 23,703

Mississippi

6.0 75,960

Louisiana

6.3 134,319

Nevada

6.3 90,117

New Mexico

6.6 61,292

Alaska

6.8 24,370

Alaska had the highest unemployment rate in August, 6.8 percent. Louisiana, Nevada, and New Mexico were the only other states with jobless rates over 6.0 percent.

From August 2015 to August 2016, 10 states had statistically significant unemployment rate decreases. The largest decreases were in Arkansas and Tennessee (−1.2 percentage points each), followed by North Carolina (−1.1 points) and West Virginia (−1.0 point).

Statistically significant over-the-year increases occurred in 5 states. The largest increase was in Wyoming (+1.2 percentage points), followed by Oklahoma and Pennsylvania (+0.8 point each).

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. The data are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — August 2016" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Lowest unemployment rates in South Dakota and New Hampshire, August 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/lowest-unemployment-rates-in-south-dakota-and-new-hampshire-august-2016.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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