For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, March 4, 2015 USDL-15-0323
Technical information: (202) 691-6392 • lausinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/lau
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov
REGIONAL AND STATE UNEMPLOYMENT -- 2014 ANNUAL AVERAGES
In 2014, annual average unemployment rates declined in all 50 states and the District
of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment-population
ratios increased in 35 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 12 states, and
were unchanged in 3 states. The U.S. jobless rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points
to 6.2 percent in 2014, while the national employment-population ratio increased by
0.4 point to 59.0 percent.
Regional Unemployment
All four regions had annual average unemployment rate declines from 2013, with the
Midwest and Northeast having the largest decreases (-1.4 percentage points each). The
Midwest, at 5.8 percent, had the lowest regional unemployment rate in 2014, while the
West, at 6.8 percent, had the highest rate. (See table 1.)
Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest annual
average unemployment rate, 4.6 percent in 2014. The Pacific had the highest jobless rate,
7.2 percent. All nine divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate declines, the largest
of which occurred in the East North Central (-1.7 percentage points) and Middle Atlantic
(-1.5 points).
____________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data |
| |
| All subnational estimates presented in this news release, except those for Puerto |
| Rico, were produced using a new generation of time-series models. Information is |
| available in the “Report on Revision to State and Area Time-Series Models” on the |
| BLS website at www.bls.gov/lau/lauschanges2015.htm. |
| |
| Effective with this news release, data have been re-estimated back to 1976 for |
| regions, divisions, states, and the District of Columbia. The annual average data |
| shown in tables 1 and 2 were affected, as were monthly seasonally adjusted and not |
| seasonally adjusted data. |
|____________________________________________________________________________________|
State Unemployment
Annual average unemployment rates decreased from 2013 to 2014 in all 50 states and the
District of Columbia. This was the first year since 1984 in which all states and the
District had over-the-year rate declines. The largest rate decline occurred in Illinois
(-2.0 percentage points), followed by Colorado, North Carolina, and Ohio (-1.8 points
each). Twenty additional states had over-the-year jobless rate decreases of at least
1.0 percentage point.
North Dakota had the lowest annual average unemployment rate (2.8 percent) in 2014.
Nebraska (3.3 percent) and South Dakota (3.4 percent) had the next lowest jobless rates.
Eleven additional states had annual average unemployment rates under 5.0 percent.
Mississippi and Nevada had the highest jobless rates (7.8 percent each) among the states,
followed by Rhode Island (7.7 percent). The District of Columbia also had a jobless rate
of 7.8 percent.
Regional Employment-Population Ratios
In 2014, all four regions had over-the-year increases in their employment-population
ratios--the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and
older who are employed. The Midwest had the largest increase (+0.8 percentage point).
The Midwest also had the highest employment-population ratio, 61.3 percent, while the
South had the lowest, 57.9 percent. (See table 2.)
Eight of the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in their employment-
population ratios, with the largest of these occurring in the East North Central
(+1.0 percentage point). The East South Central had the only ratio decline over the
year (-0.9 percentage point). The West North Central had the highest proportion of
employed persons, 65.3 percent in 2014, while the East South Central had the lowest
proportion, 53.6 percent.
State Employment-Population Ratios
In 2014, Hawaii and Indiana had the largest over-the-year increases in their employment-
population ratios (+1.4 percentage points each), followed by Louisiana (+1.2 points)
and Connecticut (+1.1 points). Sixteen additional states had increases of at least
0.5 percentage point. Mississippi and Tennessee had the largest decreases in their
employment-population ratios (-1.2 percentage points each). Four other states had
declines of at least 0.5 percentage point.
North Dakota had the highest proportion of employed persons, 70.8 percent in 2014.
Four other states in the West North Central division had the next highest ratios:
Nebraska, 68.9 percent; Iowa, 67.3 percent; Minnesota, 67.0 percent; and South Dakota,
66.9 percent. West Virginia had the lowest employment-population ratio among the states,
49.7 percent. West Virginia has had the lowest employment-population ratio each year
since the series began in 1976. Three states had the lowest employment-population
ratios in their series in 2014: Kentucky, 54.8 percent; Mississippi, 50.1 percent;
and New Mexico, 53.6 percent.
_____________
The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2015
is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2015
is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 20, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
Technical Note
This release presents labor force and unemployment data for census regions and
divisions and states from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program.
The LAUS program is a federal-state cooperative endeavor.
Concepts
Definitions. The labor force and unemployment data are based on the same concepts
and definitions as those used for the official national estimates obtained from the
Current Population Survey (CPS), a sample survey of households that is conducted for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The LAUS program
measures employment and unemployment on a place-of-residence basis. The universe for
each is the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and older. Employed
persons are those who did any work at all for pay or profit in the reference week
(the week including the 12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay
in a family business or farm, plus those not working who had a job from which they
were temporarily absent, whether or not paid, for such reasons as labor management
dispute, illness, or vacation. Unemployed persons are those who were not employed
during the reference week (based on the definition above), had actively looked
for a job sometime in the 4-week period ending with the reference week, and were
currently available for work; persons on layoff expecting recall need not be looking
for work to be counted as unemployed. The labor force is the sum of employed and
unemployed persons. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed expressed as
a percent of the labor force. The employment-population ratio is the proportion of
the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and older that is employed.
Method of estimation. Estimates for 48 of the 50 states, the District of Columbia,
the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, New York City, and the
balances of California and New York State are produced using estimating equations
based on regression techniques. This method utilizes data from several sources,
including the CPS, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of nonfarm payroll
employment, and state unemployment insurance (UI) programs. Estimates for the State
of California are derived by summing the estimates for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale metropolitan division and the balance of California. Similarly, estimates
for New York State are derived by summing the estimates for New York City and the
balance of New York State. Estimates for all nine census divisions are based on a
similar regression approach that does not incorporate CES or UI data. Estimates for
census regions are obtained by summing the model-based estimates for the component
divisions and then calculating the unemployment rate. Each month, census division
estimates are controlled to national totals; state estimates are then controlled
to their respective division totals. Estimates for Puerto Rico are derived from
a monthly household survey similar to the CPS. A detailed description of the
estimation procedures is available from BLS upon request.
Annual revisions. Labor force and unemployment data for prior years reflect
adjustments made at the end of each year. The adjusted estimates incorporate
updated population controls from the U.S. Census Bureau, any revisions in the
other data sources, and model re-estimation. The population controls (except for
Puerto Rico) reflect extrapolation from the 2010 Census. In most years, historical
data for the most recent 5 years (both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally
adjusted) are revised near the beginning of each calendar year, prior to the
release of January estimates. Though the labor force estimates typically are
updated for 5 years, the population estimates are adjusted back to the decennial
estimates base (April 2010). With the introduction of a new generation of times-
series models in 2015, historical data were re-estimated back to January 1976 for
regions, divisions, states, the District of Columbia, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale metropolitan division, New York City, and the balances of California and
New York states.
Reliability of the estimates
The estimates presented in this release are based on sample surveys, administrative
data, and modeling and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of errors.
Sampling error is a measure of sampling variability--that is, variation that occurs
by chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. Survey
data also are subject to nonsampling errors, such as those which can be introduced
into the data collection and processing operations. Estimates not directly derived
from sample surveys are subject to additional errors resulting from the specific
estimation processes used. In table 1, level estimates for states may not sum to
level estimates for regions and divisions because of rounding. Unemployment rates
and employment-population ratios are computed from unrounded levels and, thus, may
differ slightly from rates and ratios computed using the rounded level estimates
displayed in table 1.
Additional information
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state,
2013-14 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Population Civilian labor Employed Unemployed Unemployment
force rate Error range of
Region, division, and state rate, 2014 (1)
2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014
United States............. 245,679 247,947 155,389 155,922 143,929 146,305 11,460 9,617 7.4 6.2 6.1 - 6.2
Northeast...................... 44,673 44,875 28,343 28,251 26,221 26,518 2,121 1,733 7.5 6.1 6.0 - 6.3
New England................. 11,779 11,848 7,735 7,785 7,202 7,327 533 458 6.9 5.9 5.6 - 6.2
Connecticut.............. 2,858 2,867 1,869 1,885 1,724 1,760 145 125 7.7 6.6 6.1 - 7.1
Maine.................... 1,086 1,090 707 699 660 659 47 40 6.6 5.7 5.2 - 6.2
Massachusetts............ 5,401 5,446 3,509 3,557 3,272 3,353 237 205 6.7 5.8 5.2 - 6.3
New Hampshire............ 1,072 1,079 742 741 704 709 38 32 5.1 4.3 3.9 - 4.7
Rhode Island............. 849 852 557 553 505 511 52 42 9.3 7.7 7.1 - 8.2
Vermont.................. 513 514 351 349 336 335 16 14 4.4 4.1 3.7 - 4.5
Middle Atlantic............. 32,894 33,027 20,608 20,466 19,019 19,191 1,589 1,275 7.7 6.2 6.0 - 6.5
New Jersey............... 7,018 7,057 4,534 4,519 4,164 4,218 370 300 8.2 6.6 6.1 - 7.1
New York................. 15,693 15,765 9,632 9,569 8,891 8,964 741 605 7.7 6.3 6.0 - 6.7
Pennsylvania............. 10,183 10,205 6,442 6,378 5,964 6,009 478 370 7.4 5.8 5.4 - 6.2
Midwest........................ 52,605 52,869 34,301 34,443 31,831 32,429 2,471 2,014 7.2 5.8 5.7 - 6.0
East North Central.......... 36,472 36,621 23,286 23,319 21,390 21,817 1,896 1,502 8.1 6.4 6.2 - 6.7
Illinois................. 10,026 10,053 6,555 6,525 5,961 6,064 594 460 9.1 7.1 6.6 - 7.5
Indiana.................. 5,065 5,097 3,192 3,231 2,947 3,036 245 195 7.7 6.0 5.5 - 6.6
Michigan................. 7,814 7,846 4,728 4,750 4,306 4,402 422 348 8.9 7.3 6.8 - 7.8
Ohio..................... 9,056 9,092 5,726 5,719 5,299 5,392 427 328 7.5 5.7 5.3 - 6.2
Wisconsin................ 4,511 4,534 3,085 3,094 2,877 2,924 208 170 6.8 5.5 5.0 - 6.0
West North Central.......... 16,133 16,248 11,016 11,124 10,441 10,611 575 512 5.2 4.6 4.4 - 4.8
Iowa..................... 2,405 2,420 1,674 1,705 1,594 1,629 80 75 4.8 4.4 4.0 - 4.9
Kansas................... 2,185 2,197 1,487 1,500 1,408 1,432 79 68 5.3 4.5 4.0 - 5.1
Minnesota................ 4,225 4,259 2,966 2,974 2,819 2,852 146 122 4.9 4.1 3.7 - 4.5
Missouri................. 4,693 4,719 3,016 3,058 2,814 2,871 202 187 6.7 6.1 5.6 - 6.7
Nebraska................. 1,424 1,434 1,022 1,022 983 988 39 34 3.8 3.3 2.9 - 3.7
North Dakota............. 559 572 407 416 395 405 12 12 2.9 2.8 2.4 - 3.2
South Dakota............. 641 647 445 448 428 433 17 15 3.8 3.4 3.0 - 3.8
South.......................... 91,329 92,479 56,781 56,996 52,792 53,580 3,989 3,416 7.0 6.0 5.9 - 6.1
South Atlantic.............. 48,388 49,000 30,078 30,240 27,897 28,359 2,181 1,881 7.3 6.2 6.0 - 6.4
Delaware................. 728 738 442 452 413 426 30 26 6.7 5.7 5.2 - 6.2
District of Columbia..... 537 543 373 377 342 348 32 29 8.5 7.8 7.2 - 8.4
Florida.................. 15,715 15,978 9,473 9,638 8,783 9,034 690 603 7.3 6.3 5.9 - 6.6
Georgia.................. 7,575 7,669 4,759 4,757 4,368 4,414 391 342 8.2 7.2 6.6 - 7.8
Maryland................. 4,649 4,684 3,124 3,111 2,917 2,930 207 181 6.6 5.8 5.4 - 6.3
North Carolina........... 7,595 7,690 4,681 4,656 4,310 4,370 370 286 7.9 6.1 5.6 - 6.7
South Carolina........... 3,708 3,762 2,180 2,198 2,013 2,056 167 141 7.6 6.4 5.8 - 7.0
Virginia................. 6,394 6,451 4,246 4,261 4,005 4,041 241 220 5.7 5.2 4.7 - 5.6
West Virginia............ 1,486 1,485 800 790 746 739 54 52 6.7 6.5 5.8 - 7.2
East South Central.......... 14,506 14,602 8,581 8,403 7,909 7,830 672 573 7.8 6.8 6.5 - 7.2
Alabama.................. 3,767 3,786 2,169 2,150 2,012 2,004 157 146 7.2 6.8 6.0 - 7.6
Kentucky................. 3,406 3,425 2,057 2,005 1,892 1,875 165 130 8.0 6.5 5.8 - 7.2
Mississippi.............. 2,265 2,274 1,274 1,236 1,163 1,140 111 96 8.7 7.8 6.9 - 8.7
Tennessee................ 5,068 5,117 3,082 3,011 2,842 2,811 239 201 7.8 6.7 6.0 - 7.3
West South Central.......... 28,435 28,877 18,122 18,353 16,987 17,392 1,135 962 6.3 5.2 5.0 - 5.5
Arkansas................. 2,275 2,285 1,307 1,301 1,211 1,221 96 80 7.4 6.1 5.4 - 6.9
Louisiana................ 3,528 3,551 2,107 2,157 1,965 2,020 142 138 6.7 6.4 5.6 - 7.1
Oklahoma................. 2,922 2,946 1,803 1,784 1,707 1,704 96 80 5.3 4.5 3.9 - 5.1
Texas.................... 19,711 20,095 12,905 13,112 12,104 12,448 801 664 6.2 5.1 4.8 - 5.3
West........................... 57,430 58,201 36,189 36,529 33,293 34,057 2,896 2,473 8.0 6.8 6.6 - 6.9
Mountain.................... 17,448 17,723 11,130 11,252 10,352 10,601 777 652 7.0 5.8 5.5 - 6.0
Arizona.................. 5,087 5,176 3,041 3,091 2,804 2,878 237 213 7.8 6.9 6.2 - 7.6
Colorado................. 4,069 4,145 2,780 2,817 2,591 2,676 189 141 6.8 5.0 4.6 - 5.5
Idaho.................... 1,210 1,228 771 777 724 740 47 37 6.1 4.8 4.2 - 5.4
Montana.................. 800 808 514 516 486 492 28 24 5.4 4.7 4.1 - 5.3
Nevada................... 2,169 2,210 1,384 1,395 1,252 1,286 132 108 9.5 7.8 7.1 - 8.4
New Mexico............... 1,597 1,601 923 918 859 858 64 60 6.9 6.5 5.8 - 7.3
Utah..................... 2,068 2,104 1,410 1,431 1,344 1,377 66 54 4.7 3.8 3.3 - 4.3
Wyoming.................. 449 451 307 307 292 294 15 13 4.7 4.3 3.8 - 4.8
Pacific..................... 39,982 40,478 25,059 25,277 22,941 23,456 2,119 1,821 8.5 7.2 7.0 - 7.4
Alaska................... 539 541 366 367 340 342 25 25 6.9 6.8 5.7 - 7.9
California............... 29,788 30,158 18,672 18,811 17,003 17,397 1,669 1,414 8.9 7.5 7.3 - 7.8
Hawaii................... 1,075 1,084 651 668 620 639 32 29 4.8 4.4 3.9 - 4.8
Oregon................... 3,132 3,171 1,911 1,942 1,761 1,807 150 135 7.9 6.9 6.3 - 7.6
Washington............... 5,447 5,524 3,460 3,488 3,217 3,270 243 218 7.0 6.2 5.7 - 6.8
Puerto Rico.................... 2,897 2,875 1,189 1,152 1,019 992 170 160 14.3 13.9 NA
1 Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level and are based on unrounded data.
NA = Data not available.
NOTE: Data refer to place of residence. Unemployment rates are in percent and are based on unrounded levels. Data for subnational
areas reflect revised population controls and model reestimation. As a result, they will not add to U.S. totals. Data for Puerto Rico
are derived from a monthly household survey similar to the Current Population Survey.
Table 2. Employment-population ratios of persons 16 years of age and over by region,
division, and state, 2013-14 annual averages
(Percent)
Employment-population
ratio (1) Over-the- Error range of
Region, division, and state year ratio,
change 2014 (2)
2013 2014
United States............. 58.6 59.0 0.4 58.8 - 59.2
Northeast...................... 58.7 59.1 .4 58.6 - 59.5
New England................. 61.1 61.8 .7 61.1 - 62.6
Connecticut.............. 60.3 61.4 1.1 60.1 - 62.7
Maine.................... 60.8 60.5 -.3 59.1 - 61.8
Massachusetts............ 60.6 61.6 1.0 60.1 - 63.0
New Hampshire............ 65.7 65.7 .0 64.6 - 66.9
Rhode Island............. 59.5 59.9 .4 58.8 - 61.1
Vermont.................. 65.4 65.0 -.4 63.7 - 66.4
Middle Atlantic............. 57.8 58.1 .3 57.6 - 58.7
New Jersey............... 59.3 59.8 .5 58.7 - 60.9
New York................. 56.7 56.9 .2 56.0 - 57.7
Pennsylvania............. 58.6 58.9 .3 58.0 - 59.8
Midwest........................ 60.5 61.3 .8 60.9 - 61.8
East North Central.......... 58.6 59.6 1.0 59.0 - 60.1
Illinois................. 59.5 60.3 .8 59.3 - 61.3
Indiana.................. 58.2 59.6 1.4 58.1 - 61.0
Michigan................. 55.1 56.1 1.0 54.9 - 57.3
Ohio..................... 58.5 59.3 .8 58.1 - 60.5
Wisconsin................ 63.8 64.5 .7 63.0 - 66.0
West North Central.......... 64.7 65.3 .6 64.7 - 66.0
Iowa..................... 66.3 67.3 1.0 66.0 - 68.7
Kansas................... 64.4 65.2 .8 63.7 - 66.7
Minnesota................ 66.7 67.0 .3 65.7 - 68.3
Missouri................. 60.0 60.8 .8 59.2 - 62.4
Nebraska................. 69.1 68.9 -.2 67.6 - 70.2
North Dakota............. 70.6 70.8 .2 69.1 - 72.6
South Dakota............. 66.8 66.9 .1 65.4 - 68.4
South.......................... 57.8 57.9 .1 57.6 - 58.3
South Atlantic.............. 57.7 57.9 .2 57.4 - 58.3
Delaware................. 56.7 57.7 1.0 56.4 - 59.0
District of Columbia..... 63.7 64.0 .3 62.8 - 65.3
Florida.................. 55.9 56.5 .6 55.6 - 57.5
Georgia.................. 57.7 57.6 -.1 56.4 - 58.7
Maryland................. 62.7 62.6 -.1 61.5 - 63.7
North Carolina........... 56.8 56.8 .0 55.6 - 58.0
South Carolina........... 54.3 54.7 .4 53.2 - 56.1
Virginia................. 62.6 62.6 .0 61.2 - 64.1
West Virginia............ 50.2 49.7 -.5 47.7 - 51.8
East South Central.......... 54.5 53.6 -.9 52.7 - 54.5
Alabama.................. 53.4 52.9 -.5 51.1 - 54.8
Kentucky................. 55.5 54.8 -.7 52.9 - 56.6
Mississippi.............. 51.3 50.1 -1.2 48.3 - 52.0
Tennessee................ 56.1 54.9 -1.2 53.3 - 56.5
West South Central.......... 59.7 60.2 .5 59.5 - 60.9
Arkansas................. 53.2 53.4 .2 51.8 - 55.0
Louisiana................ 55.7 56.9 1.2 55.2 - 58.5
Oklahoma................. 58.4 57.8 -.6 56.1 - 59.5
Texas.................... 61.4 61.9 .5 61.1 - 62.8
West........................... 58.0 58.5 .5 58.2 - 58.9
Mountain.................... 59.3 59.8 .5 59.1 - 60.5
Arizona.................. 55.1 55.6 .5 54.0 - 57.2
Colorado................. 63.7 64.6 .9 63.0 - 66.1
Idaho.................... 59.9 60.2 .3 58.5 - 62.0
Montana.................. 60.7 60.9 .2 59.0 - 62.8
Nevada................... 57.8 58.2 .4 56.7 - 59.7
New Mexico............... 53.8 53.6 -.2 51.8 - 55.4
Utah..................... 65.0 65.4 .4 63.8 - 67.1
Wyoming.................. 65.0 65.1 .1 63.4 - 66.8
Pacific..................... 57.4 57.9 .5 57.5 - 58.4
Alaska................... 63.1 63.3 .2 61.1 - 65.5
California............... 57.1 57.7 .6 57.2 - 58.2
Hawaii................... 57.6 59.0 1.4 57.7 - 60.2
Oregon................... 56.2 57.0 .8 55.6 - 58.4
Washington............... 59.1 59.2 .1 58.1 - 60.3
Puerto Rico.................... 35.2 34.5 -.7 NA
1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of
age and over.
2 Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level and are based on
unrounded data.
NA = Data not available.
NOTE: Data refer to place of residence. Employment-population ratios are based on
unrounded levels. Data for subnational areas reflect revised population controls and
model reestimation. Data for Puerto Rico are derived from a monthly household survey
similar to the Current Population Survey.
United States Department of Labor
