For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Tuesday, January 24, 2023 USDL-23-0105
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 -- DECEMBER 2022
Unemployment rates were higher in December in 7 states, lower in 5 states, and stable in
38 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Thirty-five states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year
earlier, 4 states had increases, and 11 states had little change. The national
unemployment rate edged down to 3.5 percent over the month and was 0.4 percentage point
lower than in December 2021.
Nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 1 state and was essentially unchanged in 49
states and the District of Columbia in December 2022. Over the year, nonfarm payroll
employment increased in 42 states and was essentially unchanged in 8 states and the
District.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor
force and unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of households. These
data pertain to individuals by where they reside. The employment data are from an
establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry.
These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by where the establishments are located.
For more information about the concepts and statistical methodologies used by these two
programs, see the Technical Note.
Unemployment
Utah had the lowest jobless rate in December, 2.2 percent. The next lowest rates were
in North Dakota and South Dakota, 2.3 percent each. The rates in Alaska (4.3 percent)
and Pennsylvania (3.9 percent) set new series lows. (All state series begin in 1976.)
Nevada had the highest unemployment rate, 5.2 percent. In total, 14 states had
unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.5 percent, 11 states and the District
had higher rates, and 25 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that
of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)
In December, seven states had over-the-month unemployment rate increases, the largest
of which was in Nevada (+0.3 percentage point). Five states had over-the-month
decreases, the largest of which was in Maryland (-0.3 percentage point). Thirty-eight
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.)
The largest jobless rate decrease from December 2021 was in New Mexico (-2.0 percentage
points). The next largest decreases occurred in California and New Jersey (-1.7
percentage points each). The largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase occurred
in Oklahoma (+0.6 percentage point). (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 1 state and was essentially unchanged in 49
states and the District of Columbia in December 2022. Employment decreased in West
Virginia (-9,700, or -1.4 percent). (See tables D and 3.)
Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 42 states and was essentially
unchanged in 8 states and the District of Columbia. The largest job increases occurred
in Texas (+650,100), California (+621,400), and Florida (+440,000). The largest
percentage increase occurred in Texas (+5.0 percent), followed by Florida (+4.8
percent) and Oregon (+4.2 percent). (See table E.)
_____________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for December 2022 is
scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 1, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The
Regional and State Unemployment 2022 Annual Averages news release is scheduled to be
released on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The State Employment and
Unemployment news release for January 2023 is scheduled to be released on Monday,
March 13, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
_______________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Household Data for Puerto Rico |
| |
| Due to Hurricane Fiona, Puerto Rico was not able to conduct normal data collection |
| for its household survey for September 2022. Data collection started again in |
| October, and BLS resumed publication of the not seasonally adjusted data effective |
| with the release of October estimates. Publication of seasonally adjusted data for |
| Puerto Rico will resume at a later time, pending further research. |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|
_______________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of Regional and State Unemployment 2022 Annual Averages on |
| March 1, 2023, the civilian labor force and unemployment data for the states, the |
| District of Columbia, and the modeled substate areas presented in tables 1 and 2 of |
| this news release will be revised to incorporate updated inputs, new population |
| controls, reestimation of models, and adjustment to new census division and national |
| control totals. The population controls will continue to reflect a "blended base," |
| with elements from three independent data sources for April 1, 2020. Data in table 1 |
| will be re-seasonally adjusted as well. Both not seasonally adjusted and seasonally |
| adjusted data are subject to revision back to 2018. |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|
_______________________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Current Employment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2023 estimates on March 13, 2023, all nonfarm |
| payroll employment estimates for states and areas presented in tables 3 and 4 of this |
| news release will be adjusted to 2022 benchmark levels. Not seasonally adjusted data |
| beginning with April 2021 and seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 2018 |
| are subject to revision. Some not seasonally adjusted and seasonally adjusted series |
| may be revised as far back as 1990. |
| |
| In addition, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) State and Area division will |
| revise the basis for industry classification from the 2017 North American Industry |
| Classification System (NAICS) to NAICS 2022. The conversion to NAICS 2022 will result |
| in revisions reflecting content and coding changes within the mining and logging, |
| manufacturing, wholesale trade, retail trade, information, financial activities, and |
| other services sectors. The majority of the changes associated with the 2022 NAICS |
| update impact levels of detail not published by CES State and Area. Details of |
| updated titles and new, discontinued, and collapsed industries resulting from the |
| NAICS 2022 update, as well as changes due to the annual benchmarking process, will be |
| available on March 13, 2023. For more information on NAICS 2022, visit |
| www.census.gov/naics. |
|_______________________________________________________________________________________|
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., December 2022, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 3.5
|
Alabama .............................| 2.8
Alaska ..............................| 4.3
California ..........................| 4.1
Delaware ............................| 4.4
District of Columbia ................| 4.7
Florida .............................| 2.5
Idaho ...............................| 2.9
Illinois ............................| 4.7
Kansas ..............................| 2.9
Michigan ............................| 4.3
|
Minnesota ...........................| 2.5
Missouri ............................| 2.8
Montana .............................| 2.8
Nebraska ............................| 2.6
Nevada ..............................| 5.2
New Hampshire .......................| 2.7
New York ............................| 4.3
North Dakota ........................| 2.3
Ohio ................................| 4.2
Oregon ..............................| 4.5
|
South Dakota ........................| 2.3
Texas ...............................| 3.9
Utah ................................| 2.2
Vermont .............................| 2.6
Virginia ............................| 3.0
Washington ..........................| 4.2
--------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Data are not preliminary.
(p) = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from November 2022 to December 2022, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | November | December | change(p)
| 2022 | 2022(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado .......................| 3.5 | 3.3 | -0.2
Florida ........................| 2.6 | 2.5 | -.1
Idaho ..........................| 3.0 | 2.9 | -.1
Maryland .......................| 4.3 | 4.0 | -.3
Minnesota ......................| 2.3 | 2.5 | .2
Montana ........................| 2.9 | 2.8 | -.1
Nebraska .......................| 2.5 | 2.6 | .1
Nevada .........................| 4.9 | 5.2 | .3
Oregon .........................| 4.3 | 4.5 | .2
Vermont ........................| 2.5 | 2.6 | .1
Virginia .......................| 2.8 | 3.0 | .2
Washington .....................| 4.0 | 4.2 | .2
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from December 2021 to December 2022, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | December | December | change(p)
| 2021 | 2022(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 3.1 | 2.8 | -0.3
Alaska .........................| 5.5 | 4.3 | -1.2
Arkansas .......................| 3.3 | 3.6 | .3
California .....................| 5.8 | 4.1 | -1.7
Colorado .......................| 4.2 | 3.3 | -.9
Connecticut ....................| 5.1 | 4.2 | -.9
Delaware .......................| 4.8 | 4.4 | -.4
District of Columbia ...........| 6.1 | 4.7 | -1.4
Florida ........................| 3.5 | 2.5 | -1.0
Georgia ........................| 3.3 | 3.0 | -.3
| | |
Hawaii .........................| 4.3 | 3.2 | -1.1
Idaho ..........................| 3.1 | 2.9 | -.2
Illinois .......................| 5.1 | 4.7 | -.4
Indiana ........................| 2.7 | 3.1 | .4
Iowa ...........................| 3.9 | 3.1 | -.8
Kentucky .......................| 4.6 | 4.0 | -.6
Louisiana ......................| 4.4 | 3.5 | -.9
Maryland .......................| 5.4 | 4.0 | -1.4
Massachusetts ..................| 4.6 | 3.3 | -1.3
Michigan .......................| 5.1 | 4.3 | -.8
| | |
Minnesota ......................| 3.0 | 2.5 | -.5
Mississippi ....................| 4.7 | 4.0 | -.7
Missouri .......................| 3.9 | 2.8 | -1.1
Nebraska .......................| 2.3 | 2.6 | .3
New Hampshire ..................| 3.0 | 2.7 | -.3
New Jersey .....................| 5.1 | 3.4 | -1.7
New Mexico .....................| 5.9 | 3.9 | -2.0
New York .......................| 5.4 | 4.3 | -1.1
North Carolina .................| 4.1 | 3.9 | -.2
North Dakota ...................| 3.1 | 2.3 | -.8
| | |
Oklahoma .......................| 2.8 | 3.4 | .6
Pennsylvania ...................| 5.5 | 3.9 | -1.6
Rhode Island ...................| 4.5 | 3.5 | -1.0
South Carolina .................| 3.6 | 3.3 | -.3
South Dakota ...................| 2.9 | 2.3 | -.6
Texas ..........................| 4.8 | 3.9 | -.9
Vermont ........................| 3.1 | 2.6 | -.5
Virginia .......................| 3.3 | 3.0 | -.3
Washington .....................| 4.5 | 4.2 | -.3
Wyoming ........................| 4.0 | 3.7 | -.3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
November 2022 to December 2022, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-month change(p)
State | November | December |---------------------------
| 2022 | 2022(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Virginia ................| 716,700 | 707,000 | -9,700 | -1.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
December 2021 to December 2022, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | | Over-the-year change(p)
State | December | December |---------------------------
| 2021 | 2022(p) | Level | Percent
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ......................| 2,052,800 | 2,108,400 | 55,600 | 2.7
Alaska .......................| 316,900 | 323,900 | 7,000 | 2.2
Arizona ......................| 3,011,900 | 3,105,700 | 93,800 | 3.1
California ...................| 17,140,500 | 17,761,900 | 621,400 | 3.6
Colorado .....................| 2,806,800 | 2,911,500 | 104,700 | 3.7
Connecticut ..................| 1,635,800 | 1,667,900 | 32,100 | 2.0
Florida ......................| 9,138,500 | 9,578,500 | 440,000 | 4.8
Georgia ......................| 4,674,700 | 4,840,000 | 165,300 | 3.5
Hawaii .......................| 596,300 | 619,100 | 22,800 | 3.8
Idaho ........................| 806,600 | 829,300 | 22,700 | 2.8
| | | |
Illinois .....................| 5,940,200 | 6,101,200 | 161,000 | 2.7
Indiana ......................| 3,149,300 | 3,204,000 | 54,700 | 1.7
Iowa .........................| 1,553,300 | 1,587,500 | 34,200 | 2.2
Kansas .......................| 1,375,100 | 1,417,400 | 42,300 | 3.1
Kentucky .....................| 1,921,800 | 1,968,200 | 46,400 | 2.4
Louisiana ....................| 1,896,400 | 1,942,600 | 46,200 | 2.4
Maine ........................| 627,300 | 644,600 | 17,300 | 2.8
Maryland .....................| 2,690,900 | 2,735,000 | 44,100 | 1.6
Massachusetts ................| 3,598,400 | 3,732,900 | 134,500 | 3.7
Michigan .....................| 4,289,000 | 4,381,300 | 92,300 | 2.2
| | | |
Minnesota ....................| 2,864,500 | 2,955,500 | 91,000 | 3.2
Missouri .....................| 2,885,700 | 2,933,300 | 47,600 | 1.6
Nebraska .....................| 1,011,400 | 1,043,600 | 32,200 | 3.2
Nevada .......................| 1,422,600 | 1,476,000 | 53,400 | 3.8
New Hampshire ................| 672,400 | 689,300 | 16,900 | 2.5
New Jersey ...................| 4,116,800 | 4,265,700 | 148,900 | 3.6
New Mexico ...................| 833,800 | 855,200 | 21,400 | 2.6
New York .....................| 9,290,700 | 9,576,100 | 285,400 | 3.1
North Carolina ...............| 4,656,100 | 4,846,400 | 190,300 | 4.1
Ohio .........................| 5,403,000 | 5,508,600 | 105,600 | 2.0
| | | |
Oklahoma .....................| 1,655,200 | 1,702,600 | 47,400 | 2.9
Oregon .......................| 1,915,800 | 1,997,100 | 81,300 | 4.2
Pennsylvania .................| 5,837,600 | 6,040,100 | 202,500 | 3.5
South Carolina ...............| 2,171,900 | 2,243,600 | 71,700 | 3.3
South Dakota .................| 442,100 | 457,200 | 15,100 | 3.4
Tennessee ....................| 3,166,400 | 3,271,200 | 104,800 | 3.3
Texas ........................| 13,055,400 | 13,705,500 | 650,100 | 5.0
Utah .........................| 1,636,400 | 1,677,000 | 40,600 | 2.5
Virginia .....................| 3,994,400 | 4,097,900 | 103,500 | 2.6
Washington ...................| 3,435,900 | 3,557,600 | 121,700 | 3.5
West Virginia ................| 693,800 | 707,000 | 13,200 | 1.9
Wisconsin ....................| 2,900,700 | 2,960,700 | 60,000 | 2.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(p) = preliminary.
United States Department of Labor
