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Lowest unemployment rates in South Dakota and New Hampshire, August 2016
September 23, 2016
In August 2016, South Dakota and New Hampshire had the lowest unemployment rates among the 50 states, 2.9 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively. Jobless rates were under 4.0 percent in ten other states: North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Virginia.
Unemployment by state, August 2016, seasonally adjusted
State
Unemployment rate (percent)
Number of unemployed
South Dakota
2.9
13,133
New Hampshire
3.0
22,485
North Dakota
3.1
13,022
Nebraska
3.2
32,286
Vermont
3.3
11,446
Hawaii
3.4
23,547
Utah
3.7
54,828
Colorado
3.8
109,097
Idaho
3.8
30,973
Arkansas
3.9
53,170
Massachusetts
3.9
141,715
Virginia
3.9
162,545
Maine
4.0
27,844
Minnesota
4.0
121,424
Iowa
4.2
72,703
Wisconsin
4.2
131,141
Delaware
4.3
20,701
Kansas
4.3
63,718
Maryland
4.3
135,245
Montana
4.3
22,558
Tennessee
4.4
138,277
Indiana
4.5
152,905
Michigan
4.5
216,398
North Carolina
4.6
221,746
Florida
4.7
453,772
Ohio
4.7
271,585
Texas
4.7
621,806
New York
4.8
461,366
Georgia
4.9
241,737
Kentucky
4.9
97,004
Missouri
5.1
157,951
Oklahoma
5.1
92,200
South Carolina
5.1
116,998
New Jersey
5.3
242,500
Alabama
5.4
116,361
Oregon
5.4
111,889
California
5.5
1,060,636
Illinois
5.5
363,672
Wyoming
5.5
16,574
Connecticut
5.6
106,135
Rhode Island
5.6
30,945
Pennsylvania
5.7
369,715
Washington
5.7
207,961
West Virginia
5.7
44,751
Arizona
5.8
187,003
District of Columbia
6.0
23,703
Mississippi
6.0
75,960
Louisiana
6.3
134,319
Nevada
6.3
90,117
New Mexico
6.6
61,292
Alaska
6.8
24,370
Alaska had the highest unemployment rate in August, 6.8 percent. Louisiana, Nevada, and New Mexico were the only other states with jobless rates over 6.0 percent.
From August 2015 to August 2016, 10 states had statistically significant unemployment rate decreases. The largest decreases were in Arkansas and Tennessee (−1.2 percentage points each), followed by North Carolina (−1.1 points) and West Virginia (−1.0 point).
Statistically significant over-the-year increases occurred in 5 states. The largest increase was in Wyoming (+1.2 percentage points), followed by Oklahoma and Pennsylvania (+0.8 point each).
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. The data are seasonally adjusted. For more information, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — August 2016" (HTML) (PDF).
United States Department of Labor
