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24 states and D.C. had significant unemployment rate declines from Nov. 2014 to Nov. 2015

December 24, 2015

Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant unemployment rate declines from November 2014 to November 2015. The largest decline occurred in Rhode Island (−1.7 percentage points). The only significant over-the-year rate increase was in New Mexico (0.7 percentage point). The remaining 25 states had rates that were not appreciably different from a year earlier.

Change in unemployment rates for states, November 2014 to November 2015, seasonally adjusted

0.0 percentage points and higher

-0.4 percentage points to -0.1 percentage points

-0.8 percentage points to -0.5 percentage points

-1.2 percentage points to -0.9 percentage points

-1.3 percentage points and lower

Hover over a state to see data.
Hover over legend items to see states in a category.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

View Chart Data

Change in unemployment rates for states, November 2014 to November 2015, seasonally adjusted
State	November 2014 rate	November 2015 rate ^(p)	Change ^(p)	Change statistically significant?
New Mexico	6.1	6.8	0.7	Yes
West Virginia	6.0	6.5	0.5	No
North Carolina	5.5	5.7	0.2	No
Oklahoma	4.0	4.2	0.2	No
Texas	4.6	4.6	0.0	No
Alabama	6.1	6.0	-0.1	No
Alaska	6.5	6.4	-0.1	No
North Dakota	2.8	2.7	-0.1	No
Pennsylvania	5.1	5.0	-0.1	No
Utah	3.6	3.5	-0.1	No
Delaware	5.3	5.1	-0.2	No
Kansas	4.2	4.0	-0.2	No
Minnesota	3.7	3.5	-0.2	No
Nebraska	3.1	2.9	-0.2	No
Wyoming	4.3	4.1	-0.2	No
Maryland	5.5	5.2	-0.3	No
South Dakota	3.3	3.0	-0.3	No
Illinois	6.2	5.7	-0.5	No
Vermont	4.2	3.7	-0.5	Yes
Arizona	6.6	6.0	-0.6	No
Idaho	4.5	3.9	-0.6	Yes
Kentucky	5.5	4.9	-0.6	No
Montana	4.6	4.0	-0.6	No
Nevada	7.1	6.5	-0.6	No
Virginia	4.8	4.2	-0.6	Yes
Arkansas	5.7	5.0	-0.7	Yes
Colorado	4.3	3.6	-0.7	Yes
Florida	5.7	5.0	-0.7	Yes
Massachusetts	5.4	4.7	-0.7	No
Ohio	5.2	4.5	-0.7	No
Missouri	5.5	4.7	-0.8	No
New Hampshire	4.0	3.2	-0.8	Yes
Hawaii	4.1	3.2	-0.9	Yes
Iowa	4.3	3.4	-0.9	Yes
Louisiana	7.2	6.3	-0.9	No
New Jersey	6.3	5.3	-1.0	Yes
New York	5.8	4.8	-1.0	Yes
Tennessee	6.6	5.6	-1.0	Yes
Washington	6.3	5.3	-1.0	Yes
Wisconsin	5.2	4.2	-1.0	Yes
District Of Columbia	7.7	6.6	-1.1	Yes
Georgia	6.7	5.6	-1.1	Yes
Oregon	6.8	5.7	-1.1	Yes
South Carolina	6.6	5.5	-1.1	Yes
Connecticut	6.3	5.1	-1.2	Yes
Mississippi	7.2	6.0	-1.2	Yes
Maine	5.5	4.1	-1.4	Yes
Michigan	6.5	5.1	-1.4	Yes
California	7.2	5.7	-1.5	Yes
Indiana	5.9	4.4	-1.5	Yes
Rhode Island	6.9%	5.2%	-1.7	Yes
Footnotes: ^(p) Preliminary

North Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in November, 2.7 percent, followed by Nebraska, 2.9 percent. New Mexico had the highest rate, 6.8 percent. In total, 19 states had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 5.0 percent, and 11 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates. Twenty states had rates that were not appreciably different from the national rate.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Data for November 2015 are preliminary and may be revised. The data are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see “Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — November 2015” (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 24 states and D.C. had significant unemployment rate declines from Nov. 2014 to Nov. 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/24-states-and-dc-had-significant-unemployment-rate-declines-from-nov-2014-to-nov-2015.htm (visited March 02, 2026).

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