Unemployment rate lowest in Hawaii, highest in Alaska, in October 2018

In October 2018, 14 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. rate of 3.7 percent, and 11 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates. The remaining 25 states had unemployment rates that were not significantly different from that of the nation as a whole.

Hawaii had the lowest unemployment rate in October, 2.3 percent. Iowa, New Hampshire, Idaho, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia also had unemployment rates below 3.0 percent.

Alaska had the highest jobless rate, 6.4 percent. Louisiana, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia also had jobless rates of 5.0 percent or higher.

The unemployment rates in Texas (3.7 percent) and Washington (4.3 percent) set new series lows in October 2018. (All state data series begin in 1976.)

There were 18 states that had unemployment rate changes from October 2017 to October 2018, all of which were decreases. The largest decrease occurred in New Mexico, where the unemployment rate decreased from 6.0 percent to 4.6 percent, a change of −1.4 percentage points.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. To learn more, see "State Employment and Unemployment — October 2018." Also see more charts and maps on state employment and unemployment.