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State unemployment and employment, January 2014

March 19, 2014

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in January. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from December, one state had an increase, and six states had no change.

 
Unemployment rate by state, seasonally adjusted, January 2014
State Rate

North Dakota

 2.6

Nebraska

 3.5

South Dakota

 3.6

Utah

 3.9

Vermont

 4.0

Iowa

 4.3

Wyoming

 4.3

Hawaii

 4.6

Minnesota

 4.7

Kansas

 4.8

Louisiana

 4.9

New Hampshire

 4.9

Virginia

 5.0

Oklahoma

 5.2

Montana

 5.3

Idaho

 5.4

Texas

 5.7

Maryland

 5.8

West Virginia

 5.9

Missouri

 6.0

Alabama

 6.1

Colorado

 6.1

Delaware

 6.1

Florida

 6.1

Wisconsin

 6.1

Maine

 6.2

Alaska

 6.4

Indiana

 6.4

Pennsylvania

 6.4

South Carolina

 6.4

Washington

 6.4

New Mexico

 6.6

North Carolina

 6.7

Massachusetts

 6.8

New York

 6.8

Ohio

 6.9

Oregon

 7.0

New Jersey

 7.1

Connecticut

 7.2

Tennessee

 7.2

Arkansas

 7.3

Georgia

 7.3

District of Columbia

 7.4

Arizona

 7.5

Mississippi

 7.5

Kentucky

 7.7

Michigan

 7.8

California

 8.1

Illinois

 8.7

Nevada

 8.7

Rhode Island

 9.2

 

Rhode Island had the highest unemployment rate among the states in January, 9.2 percent. North Dakota again had the lowest jobless rate, 2.6 percent. In total, 18 states had jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 6.6 percent, 6 states had measurably higher rates, and 26 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 4 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increase occurred in Nevada (+3.4 percent), followed by North Dakota (+3.3 percent) and Texas (+2.9 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Kentucky and New Mexico (-0.3 percent each), followed by West Virginia (-0.2 percent).
States with statistically significant employment changes from January 2013 to January 2014, seasonally adjusted
State January 2013 January 2014 (p) Over the year change (p) Over the year percent change (p)

Nevada

 1,161,700 1,201,100 39,400 3.4

North Dakota

 436,900 451,300 14,400 3.3

Texas

 11,036,900 11,359,300 322,400 2.9

Colorado

 2,349,000 2,412,200 63,200 2.7

Oregon

 1,654,200 1,698,000 43,800 2.6

Florida

 7,485,200 7,678,000 192,800 2.6

Utah

 1,274,800 1,305,200 30,400 2.4

Arizona

 2,495,100 2,551,200 56,100 2.2

California

 14,972,500 15,292,100 319,600 2.1

Hawaii

 608,800 621,300 12,500 2.1

Wisconsin

 2,799,100 2,855,200 56,100 2.0

South Carolina

 1,879,300 1,916,700 37,400 2.0

Minnesota

 2,758,400 2,812,300 53,900 2.0

Georgia

 3,997,500 4,071,900 74,400 1.9

Washington

 2,961,700 3,015,200 53,500 1.8

Oklahoma

 1,623,300 1,652,000 28,700 1.8

North Carolina

 4,026,900 4,097,000 70,100 1.7

Delaware

 423,100 430,300 7,200 1.7

Indiana

 2,911,300 2,955,200 43,900 1.5

Massachusetts

 3,332,200 3,382,200 50,000 1.5

Missouri

 2,711,100 2,751,400 40,300 1.5

Montana

 445,500 452,100 6,600 1.5

Kansas

 1,364,100 1,383,300 19,200 1.4

Tennessee

 2,734,500 2,772,300 37,800 1.4

New York

 8,848,100 8,965,500 117,400 1.3

Ohio

 5,218,500 5,285,600 67,100 1.3

Iowa

 1,517,400 1,536,900 19,500 1.3

Michigan

 4,081,300 4,118,500 37,200 0.9
Footnotes:

 

(p) Preliminary

 

Employment data are from the Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) program. Unemployment data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. To learn more, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment – January 2014" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑14‑0430.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, State unemployment and employment, January 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140319.htm (visited March 06, 2026).