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Massachusetts jobless rate down 0.9 percentage point over the year ended May 2023
July 05, 2023
In May 2023, 17 states had over-the-year jobless rate decreases, 8 states and the District of Columbia had increases, and the remaining 25 states had unemployment rates that were little different than a year earlier. Massachusetts, where the unemployment rate decreased from 3.7 percent in May 2022 to 2.8 percent in May 2023, had the largest over-the-year change, −0.9 percentage point. Unemployment rates also decreased by more than half a percentage point in Maryland (−0.7 percentage point) and New Mexico (−0.6 percentage point) over the year ended May 2023.
States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes from May 2022 to May 2023, seasonally adjusted
State
Over-the-year change (percentage points)
Unemployment rate, May 2022
Unemployment rate, May 2023
Massachusetts
-0.9
3.7
2.8
Maryland
-0.7
3.1
2.4
New Mexico
-0.6
4.1
3.5
Arkansas
-0.5
3.2
2.7
Mississippi
-0.5
3.7
3.2
West Virginia
-0.5
3.8
3.3
Wisconsin
-0.5
2.9
2.4
Connecticut
-0.4
4.1
3.7
Alabama
-0.3
2.5
2.2
Florida
-0.3
2.9
2.6
Illinois
-0.3
4.4
4.1
Michigan
-0.3
4.0
3.7
Montana
-0.3
2.6
2.3
New Hampshire
-0.3
2.2
1.9
Ohio
-0.3
3.9
3.6
Pennsylvania
-0.3
4.3
4.0
New York
-0.2
4.1
3.9
Georgia
0.3
2.9
3.2
Iowa
0.3
2.4
2.7
Texas
0.3
3.8
4.1
Kansas
0.4
2.5
2.9
Missouri
0.4
2.1
2.5
Virginia
0.4
2.5
2.9
California
0.5
4.0
4.5
District of Columbia
0.5
4.6
5.1
Minnesota
0.5
2.4
2.9
Note: Data for the most recent month are preliminary.
Nebraska, New Hampshire, and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates in May 2023, 1.9 percent each. The next lowest rates were in North Dakota and Vermont, 2.1 percent each. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate, 5.4 percent. Unemployment rates in 7 states (Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) were at all-time lows in May 2023. (State unemployment data begin in 1976.) Among these states, unemployment rates in Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Vermont were not significantly different from a year earlier.
The largest over-the-year increases were in the District of Columbia, California, and Minnesota (+0.5 percentage point each). In the District of Columbia, the unemployment rate increased from 4.6 percent in May 2022 to 5.1 percent in May 2023.
The national unemployment rate, 3.7 percent in May 2023, was little changed from May 2022.
United States Department of Labor
