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Unemployment rate down in 41 states from September 2014 to September 2015

October 23, 2015

From September 2014 to September 2015, the unemployment rate decreased in 41 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 7 states, and was unchanged in 2 states. The national jobless rate, at 5.1 percent, was 0.8 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

Unemployment rates for the 50 states and the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted, September 2014–September 2015

5.9% and higher

5.2% to 5.8%

4.5% to 5.1%

4.0% to 4.4%

3.9% 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

Unemployment rates for the 50 states and the District of Columbia, seasonally adjusted, September 2014–September 2015
State	September 2014 rate	September 2015 rate^(p)	Over-the-year change	Statistically significant?
Alabama	6.3%	6.0%	-0.3%	No
Alaska	6.8	6.4	-0.4	No
Arizona	6.6	6.3	-0.3	No
Arkansas	5.8	5.2	-0.6	No
California	7.3	5.9	-1.4	Yes
Colorado	4.5	4.0	-0.5	No
Connecticut	6.3	5.2	-1.1	Yes
Delaware	5.5	4.9	-0.6	No
District of Columbia	7.8	6.7	-1.1	No
Florida	5.8	5.2	-0.6	Yes
Georgia	6.9	5.8	-1.1	Yes
Hawaii	4.2	3.4	-0.8	Yes
Idaho	4.7	4.2	-0.5	Yes
Illinois	6.4	5.4	-1.0	Yes
Indiana	5.8	4.5	-1.3	Yes
Iowa	4.3	3.6	-0.7	Yes
Kansas	4.3	4.4	0.1	No
Kentucky	5.8	5.0	-0.8	No
Louisiana	6.9	6.0	-0.9	Yes
Maine	5.6	4.4	-1.2	Yes
Maryland	5.6	5.1	-0.5	No
Massachusetts	5.6	4.6	-1.0	Yes
Michigan	6.7	5.0	-1.7	Yes
Minnesota	3.7	3.8	0.1	No
Mississippi	7.3	6.1	-1.2	Yes
Missouri	5.6	5.3	-0.3	No
Montana	4.6	4.1	-0.5	No
Nebraska	3.2	2.9	-0.3	No
Nevada	7.3	6.7	-0.6	No
New Hampshire	4.1	3.4	-0.7	Yes
New Jersey	6.4	5.6	-0.8	Yes
New Mexico	6.3	6.8	0.5	No
New York	6.0	5.1	-0.9	Yes
North Carolina	5.8	5.8	0.0	No
North Dakota	2.7	2.8	0.1	No
Ohio	5.3	4.5	-0.8	Yes
Oklahoma	4.2	4.4	0.2	No
Oregon	6.9	6.2	-0.7	No
Pennsylvania	5.3	5.3	0.0	No
Rhode Island	7.2	5.4	-1.8	Yes
South Carolina	6.6	5.7	-0.9	Yes
South Dakota	3.3	3.5	0.2	No
Tennessee	6.6	5.7	-0.9	Yes
Texas	4.8	4.2	-0.6	Yes
Utah	3.7	3.6	-0.1	No
Vermont	4.2	3.7	-0.5	Yes
Virginia	5.0	4.3	-0.7	Yes
Washington	6.2	5.2	-1.0	Yes
West Virginia	6.3	7.3	1.0	Yes
Wisconsin	5.3	4.3	-1.0	Yes
Wyoming	4.4	4.0	-0.4	No
Footnotes: ^(p) Preliminary.

Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant unemployment rate declines from September 2014 to September 2015, the largest of which occurred in Rhode Island (–1.8 percentage points) and Michigan (–1.7 points). The only significant over-the-year rate increase was in West Virginia (+1.0 percentage point). The remaining 23 states had rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year 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 — September 2015” (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate down in 41 states from September 2014 to September 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/unemployment-rate-down-in-41-states-from-september-2014-to-september-2015.htm (visited March 12, 2026).

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