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From February 2013 to February 2014, 25 states reported statistically significant unemployment rate changes and all were declines. South Carolina had the largest statistically significant jobless rate decline (−2.4 percentage points), followed by North Carolina (−2.2 points), and Louisiana (−1.9 points).
State | February 2013 unemployment rate (in percent) | February 2014 unemployment rate (in percent)(p) | Net change (in percentage point(s))(p) | Statistical significance |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 6.6 | 6.4 | -0.2 | Not statistically significant |
Alaska | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0.0 | Not statistically significant |
Arizona | 8.0 | 7.3 | -0.7 | Not statistically significant |
Arkansas | 7.5 | 7.1 | -0.4 | Not statistically significant |
California | 9.4 | 8.0 | -1.4 | Statistically significant |
Colorado | 7.1 | 6.1 | -1.0 | Statistically significant |
Connecticut | 7.9 | 7.0 | -0.9 | Not statistically significant |
Delaware | 6.9 | 6.0 | -0.9 | Statistically significant |
District of Columbia | 8.6 | 7.4 | -1.2 | Statistically significant |
Florida | 7.9 | 6.2 | -1.7 | Statistically significant |
Georgia | 8.5 | 7.1 | -1.4 | Statistically significant |
Hawaii | 4.9 | 4.6 | -0.3 | Not statistically significant |
Idaho | 6.6 | 5.3 | -1.3 | Statistically significant |
Illinois | 9.2 | 8.7 | -0.5 | Not statistically significant |
Indiana | 7.9 | 6.1 | -1.8 | Statistically significant |
Iowa | 4.9 | 4.4 | -0.5 | Not statistically significant |
Kansas | 5.6 | 4.9 | -0.7 | Not statistically significant |
Kentucky | 8.2 | 7.8 | -0.4 | Not statistically significant |
Louisiana | 6.4 | 4.5 | -1.9 | Statistically significant |
Maine | 6.9 | 6.1 | -0.8 | Statistically significant |
Maryland | 6.8 | 5.7 | -1.1 | Statistically significant |
Massachusetts | 6.9 | 6.5 | -0.4 | Not statistically significant |
Michigan | 8.8 | 7.7 | -1.1 | Statistically significant |
Minnesota | 5.3 | 4.8 | -0.5 | Not statistically significant |
Mississippi | 9.0 | 7.4 | -1.6 | Statistically significant |
Missouri | 6.7 | 6.4 | -0.3 | Not statistically significant |
Montana | 5.7 | 5.1 | -0.6 | Not statistically significant |
Nebraska | 3.9 | 3.6 | -0.3 | Not statistically significant |
Nevada | 10.3 | 8.5 | -1.8 | Statistically significant |
New Hampshire | 5.4 | 4.7 | -0.7 | Not statistically significant |
New Jersey | 8.8 | 7.1 | -1.7 | Statistically significant |
New Mexico | 6.9 | 6.7 | -0.2 | Not statistically significant |
New York | 8.0 | 6.8 | -1.2 | Statistically significant |
North Carolina | 8.6 | 6.4 | -2.2 | Statistically significant |
North Dakota | 3.0 | 2.6 | -0.4 | Not statistically significant |
Ohio | 7.3 | 6.5 | -0.8 | Not statistically significant |
Oklahoma | 5.3 | 5.0 | -0.3 | Not statistically significant |
Oregon | 8.1 | 6.9 | -1.2 | Statistically significant |
Pennsylvania | 7.7 | 6.2 | -1.5 | Statistically significant |
Rhode Island | 9.5 | 9.0 | -0.5 | Not statistically significant |
South Carolina | 8.1 | 5.7 | -2.4 | Statistically significant |
South Dakota | 4.0 | 3.6 | -0.4 | Not statistically significant |
Tennessee | 8.2 | 6.9 | -1.3 | Statistically significant |
Texas | 6.5 | 5.7 | -0.8 | Statistically significant |
Utah | 4.7 | 3.9 | -0.8 | Statistically significant |
Vermont | 4.3 | 3.7 | -0.6 | Not statistically significant |
Virginia | 5.6 | 4.9 | -0.7 | Statistically significant |
Washington | 7.2 | 6.4 | -0.8 | Not statistically significant |
West Virginia | 6.8 | 6.0 | -0.8 | Not statistically significant |
Wisconsin | 6.9 | 6.1 | -0.8 | Statistically significant |
Wyoming | 4.8 | 4.2 | -0.6 | Not statistically significant |
Footnotes: |
Ten states had statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate declines in February 2014. The largest of these occurred in South Carolina (-0.7 percentage point) and Ohio (−0.4 point). Missouri and Iowa were the only states with significant over-the-month rate increases (+0.4 and +0.1 percentage point, respectively). The remaining 38 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not measurably different from those of a month earlier.
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — February 2014" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL‑14‑0493.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, South Carolina has largest decrease in unemployment rate from February 2013 to February 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2014/ted_20140401.htm (visited March 20, 2025).