For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 20, 2017 USDL-17-1403
Technical information:
Employment: (202) 691-6559 * sminfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/sae
Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 * lausinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/lau
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- SEPTEMBER 2017
Unemployment rates were lower in September in 11 states, higher in 4 states, and
stable in 35 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Twenty-two states had jobless rate decreases from a
year earlier, 1 state had an increase, and 27 states and the District had little
or no change. The national unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point from
August to 4.2 percent and was 0.7 point lower than in September 2016.
Nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 6 states in September 2017, increased in
5 states, and was essentially unchanged in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
Over the year, 28 states added nonfarm payroll jobs and 22 states and the District
were essentially unchanged.
Unemployment
North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate in September, 2.4 percent, closely
followed by Colorado and Hawaii, 2.5 percent each. The rates in Idaho (2.8 percent)
and Tennessee (3.0 percent) set new series lows. (All state series begin
in 1976.) Alaska had the highest jobless rate, 7.2 percent. In total, 15 states
had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.2 percent, 13 states and
the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 22 states had rates that were not
appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)
__________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria |
| |
| Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas prior to the September 2017 reference |
| period for both the establishment and household surveys. Hurricane Irma made |
| landfall in Florida during the reference period for both surveys. However, for |
| both surveys, data collection rates generally were within normal ranges, both |
| nationally and in the affected states. Therefore, no changes were made to the |
| estimation procedures for September. |
| |
| In the establishment survey, employees who are not paid for the pay period that |
| includes the 12th of the month are not counted as employed. In the household |
| survey, persons with a job are counted as employed even if they miss work for |
| the entire survey reference week (the week including the 12th of the month), |
| regardless of whether or not they are paid. For a general discussion of how |
| unusually severe weather can affect the estimates, see the Frequently Asked |
| Questions section of the Employment Situation news release at |
| www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.faq.htm. |
| |
| Due to Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Puerto Rico was not able to conduct normal |
| data collection for either its household or establishment surveys for |
| September. Likewise, the U.S. Virgin Islands was not able to administer its |
| establishment survey for September. National estimates do not include Puerto |
| Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. |
| |
| More information on the effects of the recent hurricanes on BLS data collection |
| and reporting can be found at www.bls.gov/bls/hurricanes-harvey-irma-maria.htm. |
|__________________________________________________________________________________|
In September, 11 states had unemployment rate decreases, the largest of which was in
Alabama (-0.4 percentage point), closely followed by Arizona, Kentucky, Massachusetts,
and Tennessee (-0.3 point each). Four states had notable rate increases, the largest
of which were in Michigan (+0.4 percentage point) and Indiana (+0.3 point). The
remaining 35 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not
notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were
at least as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)
Twenty-two states had unemployment rate decreases from September 2016. The largest
declines occurred in Alabama and Tennessee (-2.2 percentage points and -1.9 points,
respectively). The only over-the-year rate increase was in South Dakota (+0.5
percentage point). (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
Six states had over-the-month decreases in nonfarm payroll employment in September
2017. The largest decrease in employment over the month occurred in Florida
(-127,400), followed by New York (-34,100) and Missouri (-10,500). In percentage
terms, the largest decreases occurred in Florida (-1.5 percent), Wyoming (-0.9
percent), and New Hampshire and Rhode Island (-0.7 percent each). Five states had
over-the-month increases in nonfarm payroll employment in September. The largest
increase in employment occurred in California (+52,200), followed by Washington
(+13,800) and Indiana (+11,400). In percentage terms, the largest increase
occurred in Nebraska (+0.5 percent), followed by Arizona, Indiana, and Washington
(+0.4 percent each). (See tables D and 3.)
Twenty-eight states had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment in
September. The largest job gains occurred in California (+280,300), Texas (+256,100),
and New York (+93,100). The largest percentage gains occurred in Nevada and Utah
(+2.5 percent each), followed by Maryland (+2.4 percent). (See table E.)
_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for September is
scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 1, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The
State Employment and Unemployment news release for October is scheduled to be
released on Friday, November 17, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., September 2017, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 4.2
|
Alaska ..............................| 7.2
Arkansas ............................| 3.5
California ..........................| 5.1
Colorado ............................| 2.5
Delaware ............................| 4.9
District of Columbia ................| 6.5
Hawaii ..............................| 2.5
Idaho ...............................| 2.8
Illinois ............................| 5.0
Iowa ................................| 3.2
|
Kentucky ............................| 5.2
Louisiana ...........................| 5.1
Minnesota ...........................| 3.7
Mississippi .........................| 5.2
Nebraska ............................| 2.8
Nevada ..............................| 4.9
New Hampshire .......................| 2.7
New Mexico ..........................| 6.2
New York ............................| 4.9
North Dakota ........................| 2.4
|
Ohio ................................| 5.3
Pennsylvania ........................| 4.8
South Dakota ........................| 3.4
Tennessee ...........................| 3.0
Utah ................................| 3.4
Vermont .............................| 2.9
Virginia ............................| 3.7
West Virginia .......................| 5.1
Wisconsin ...........................| 3.5
--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Data are not preliminary.
(p) = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from August 2017 to September 2017, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | August | September | change(p)
| 2017 | 2017(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 4.2 | 3.8 | -0.4
Arizona ........................| 5.0 | 4.7 | -.3
Connecticut ....................| 4.8 | 4.6 | -.2
Florida ........................| 4.0 | 3.8 | -.2
Georgia ........................| 4.7 | 4.5 | -.2
Hawaii .........................| 2.6 | 2.5 | -.1
Indiana ........................| 3.5 | 3.8 | .3
Kentucky .......................| 5.5 | 5.2 | -.3
Massachusetts ..................| 4.2 | 3.9 | -.3
Michigan .......................| 3.9 | 4.3 | .4
| | |
Minnesota ......................| 3.8 | 3.7 | -.1
New Jersey .....................| 4.5 | 4.7 | .2
North Dakota ...................| 2.3 | 2.4 | .1
Tennessee ......................| 3.3 | 3.0 | -.3
Vermont ........................| 3.0 | 2.9 | -.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from September 2016 to September 2017, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | September | September | change(p)
| 2016 | 2017(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 6.0 | 3.8 | -2.2
California .....................| 5.3 | 5.1 | -.2
Colorado .......................| 3.2 | 2.5 | -.7
Florida ........................| 4.9 | 3.8 | -1.1
Georgia ........................| 5.4 | 4.5 | -.9
Hawaii .........................| 3.0 | 2.5 | -.5
Idaho ..........................| 3.8 | 2.8 | -1.0
Illinois .......................| 5.8 | 5.0 | -.8
Louisiana ......................| 6.1 | 5.1 | -1.0
Missouri .......................| 4.7 | 3.8 | -.9
| | |
Nebraska .......................| 3.3 | 2.8 | -.5
New Mexico .....................| 6.8 | 6.2 | -.6
North Carolina .................| 5.1 | 4.1 | -1.0
North Dakota ...................| 3.1 | 2.4 | -.7
Pennsylvania ...................| 5.5 | 4.8 | -.7
Rhode Island ...................| 5.3 | 4.2 | -1.1
South Dakota ...................| 2.9 | 3.4 | .5
Tennessee ......................| 4.9 | 3.0 | -1.9
Texas ..........................| 4.7 | 4.0 | -.7
Washington .....................| 5.3 | 4.6 | -.7
| | |
West Virginia ..................| 5.9 | 5.1 | -.8
Wisconsin ......................| 4.2 | 3.5 | -.7
Wyoming ........................| 5.1 | 4.0 | -1.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
August 2017 to September 2017, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-month change(p)
State | August | September |---------------------------
| 2017 | 2017(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona ......................| 2,754,600 | 2,765,500 | 10,900 | 0.4
California ...................| 16,778,300 | 16,830,500 | 52,200 | .3
Florida ......................| 8,646,500 | 8,519,100 | -127,400 | -1.5
Indiana ......................| 3,122,700 | 3,134,100 | 11,400 | .4
Missouri .....................| 2,899,400 | 2,888,900 | -10,500 | -.4
Nebraska .....................| 1,027,800 | 1,033,200 | 5,400 | .5
New Hampshire ................| 683,800 | 678,900 | -4,900 | -.7
New York .....................| 9,553,700 | 9,519,600 | -34,100 | -.4
Rhode Island .................| 498,800 | 495,100 | -3,700 | -.7
Washington ...................| 3,325,200 | 3,339,000 | 13,800 | .4
Wyoming ......................| 277,700 | 275,200 | -2,500 | -.9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
September 2016 to September 2017, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-year change(p)
State | September | September |---------------------------
| 2016 | 2017(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ......................| 1,979,200 | 2,009,100 | 29,900 | 1.5
Arizona ......................| 2,730,800 | 2,765,500 | 34,700 | 1.3
Arkansas .....................| 1,230,200 | 1,254,600 | 24,400 | 2.0
California ...................| 16,550,200 | 16,830,500 | 280,300 | 1.7
Colorado .....................| 2,614,900 | 2,656,200 | 41,300 | 1.6
Georgia ......................| 4,413,100 | 4,497,200 | 84,100 | 1.9
Idaho ........................| 700,000 | 715,000 | 15,000 | 2.1
Indiana ......................| 3,101,600 | 3,134,100 | 32,500 | 1.0
Kentucky .....................| 1,919,900 | 1,950,100 | 30,200 | 1.6
Maryland .....................| 2,716,800 | 2,780,900 | 64,100 | 2.4
| | | |
Massachusetts ................| 3,575,400 | 3,637,700 | 62,300 | 1.7
Michigan .....................| 4,340,800 | 4,402,800 | 62,000 | 1.4
Minnesota ....................| 2,903,100 | 2,955,300 | 52,200 | 1.8
Missouri .....................| 2,850,600 | 2,888,900 | 38,300 | 1.3
Nebraska .....................| 1,017,800 | 1,033,200 | 15,400 | 1.5
Nevada .......................| 1,315,700 | 1,348,000 | 32,300 | 2.5
New York .....................| 9,426,500 | 9,519,600 | 93,100 | 1.0
North Carolina ...............| 4,361,100 | 4,422,500 | 61,400 | 1.4
Ohio .........................| 5,495,400 | 5,557,000 | 61,600 | 1.1
Oregon .......................| 1,841,900 | 1,876,800 | 34,900 | 1.9
| | | |
Pennsylvania .................| 5,903,800 | 5,970,400 | 66,600 | 1.1
South Carolina ...............| 2,063,300 | 2,091,400 | 28,100 | 1.4
Tennessee ....................| 2,982,400 | 3,026,600 | 44,200 | 1.5
Texas ........................| 12,065,000 | 12,321,100 | 256,100 | 2.1
Utah .........................| 1,439,300 | 1,475,700 | 36,400 | 2.5
Virginia .....................| 3,928,700 | 3,971,100 | 42,400 | 1.1
Washington ...................| 3,267,700 | 3,339,000 | 71,300 | 2.2
Wisconsin ....................| 2,923,800 | 2,958,400 | 34,600 | 1.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
