The .gov means it's official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
December 2016 unemployment rates lowest in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, South Dakota
January 27, 2017
New Hampshire had the lowest unemployment rate in December, 2.6 percent, followed by Massachusetts and South Dakota, both 2.8 percent. Hawaii, Colorado, and North Dakota all had unemployment rates of 3.0 percent or lower in December.
Unemployment rate, by state, December 2016 and December 2015, seasonally adjusted
State
Unemployment rate (percentage of labor force)
December 2016
December 2015
New Hampshire
2.6
3.1
Massachusetts
2.8
4.9
South Dakota
2.8
2.9
Hawaii
2.9
3.3
Colorado
3.0
3.5
North Dakota
3.0
2.7
Utah
3.1
3.4
Vermont
3.1
3.5
Nebraska
3.4
3.0
Iowa
3.6
3.5
Idaho
3.7
3.9
Maine
3.8
4.0
Arkansas
3.9
4.7
Minnesota
3.9
3.7
Indiana
4.0
4.6
Montana
4.0
4.1
Wisconsin
4.0
4.6
Virginia
4.1
4.2
Kansas
4.2
4.0
Maryland
4.2
5.0
Delaware
4.3
4.9
South Carolina
4.3
5.5
Connecticut
4.4
5.4
Missouri
4.4
4.4
Oregon
4.6
5.5
Texas
4.6
4.6
New Jersey
4.7
4.8
Arizona
4.8
5.9
Kentucky
4.8
5.7
Wyoming
4.8
4.4
Florida
4.9
5.1
New York
4.9
5.0
Ohio
4.9
4.8
Tennessee
4.9
5.6
Michigan
5.0
5.1
Oklahoma
5.0
4.1
Rhode Island
5.0
5.4
Nevada
5.1
6.3
North Carolina
5.1
5.6
California
5.2
5.9
Washington
5.2
5.8
Georgia
5.4
5.5
Mississippi
5.6
6.8
Pennsylvania
5.6
4.7
Illinois
5.7
6.1
District of Columbia
5.8
6.6
West Virginia
5.9
6.2
Louisiana
6.1
5.8
Alabama
6.2
6.3
New Mexico
6.6
6.6
Alaska
6.7
6.6
Note: Data for the most recent month are preliminary.
Alaska and New Mexico had the highest jobless rates, 6.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively. Louisiana and Alabama were the only other states with unemployment rates above 6.0 percent. The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in December 2016, 0.3 percentage point lower than in December 2015.
Eleven states had statistically significant unemployment rate decreases from December 2015, the largest of which was in Massachusetts (−2.1 percentage points). Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Arizona, and Connecticut all had over-the-year decreases of 1.0 to 1.2 percentage points.
The only significant unemployment rate increases over the year occurred in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania (+0.9 percentage point each).
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. To learn more, see "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment — December 2016" (HTML) (PDF).
United States Department of Labor
