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Unemployment rate declined in 36 states for the year ending March 2016

April 22, 2016

Over the 12 months ending in March 2016, the unemployment rate decreased in 36 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 12 states, and was unchanged in 2 states. Over the same period, the national jobless rate declined from 5.5 percent in March 2015 to 5.0 percent in March 2016.

State unemployment rates for March 2016, March 2015, and over-the-year change, seasonally adjusted

5.7% and higher

5.0% to 5.6%

4.4% to 4.9%

3.8% to 4.3%

3.7% 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

State unemployment rates for March 2016, March 2015, and over-the-year change, seasonally adjusted
State	March 2016^(p)	March 2015	Over-the-year change^(p)	Statistically significant?
Alabama	6.2%	6.1%	0.1	No
Alaska	6.6	6.4	0.2	No
Arizona	5.4	6.2	-0.8	Yes
Arkansas	4.0	5.5	-1.5	Yes
California	5.4	6.6	-1.2	Yes
Colorado	2.9	4.0	-1.1	Yes
Connecticut	5.7	5.9	-0.2	No
Delaware	4.4	4.9	-0.5	No
District Of Columbia	6.5	7.2	-0.7	No
Florida	4.9	5.6	-0.7	Yes
Georgia	5.5	6.2	-0.7	No
Hawaii	3.1	3.9	-0.8	Yes
Idaho	3.8	4.1	-0.3	No
Illinois	6.5	5.9	0.6	No
Indiana	5.0	5.1	-0.1	No
Iowa	3.8	3.7	0.1	No
Kansas	3.9	4.3	-0.4	No
Kentucky	5.6	5.3	0.3	No
Louisiana	6.1	6.6	-0.5	No
Maine	3.4	4.6	-1.2	Yes
Maryland	4.7	5.3	-0.6	Yes
Massachusetts	4.4	5.1	-0.7	No
Michigan	4.8	5.8	-1.0	Yes
Minnesota	3.7	3.6	0.1	No
Mississippi	6.3	6.5	-0.2	No
Missouri	4.2	5.3	-1.1	Yes
Montana	4.3	4.1	0.2	No
Nebraska	3.0	2.8	0.2	No
Nevada	5.8	6.9	-1.1	Yes
New Hampshire	2.6	3.7	-1.1	Yes
New Jersey	4.4	6.2	-1.8	Yes
New Mexico	6.2	6.5	-0.3	No
New York	4.8	5.6	-0.8	Yes
North Carolina	5.5	5.8	-0.3	No
North Dakota	3.1	2.7	0.4	Yes
Ohio	5.1	5.1	0.0	No
Oklahoma	4.4	4.2	0.2	No
Oregon	4.5	5.7	-1.2	Yes
Pennsylvania	4.9	5.3	-0.4	No
Rhode Island	5.4	6.3	-0.9	No
South Carolina	5.7	6.4	-0.7	No
South Dakota	2.5	3.2	-0.7	Yes
Tennessee	4.5	6.0	-1.5	Yes
Texas	4.3	4.4	-0.1	No
Utah	3.5	3.5	0.0	No
Vermont	3.3	3.7	-0.4	No
Virginia	4.0	4.7	-0.7	Yes
Washington	5.8	5.6	0.2	No
West Virginia	6.5	6.9	-0.4	No
Wisconsin	4.5	4.6	-0.1	No
Wyoming	5.2	3.9	1.3	Yes
Footnotes: ^(p) Prelminary.

New Jersey had the largest unemployment rate decline for the year ending March 2016 (–1.8 percentage points). In addition to New Jersey, 17 other states had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases that were statistically significant. The only states with statistically significant unemployment rate increases were Wyoming (+1.3 percentage points) and North Dakota (+0.4 point).

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and may be revised. To learn more, see “Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — March 2016” (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate declined in 36 states for the year ending March 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/unemployment-rate-declined-in-36-states-for-the-year-ending-march-2016.htm (visited March 02, 2026).

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