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Over the year ending April 2017, the unemployment rates of Illinois, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wyoming each fell 1.3 percentage points, the largest decreases nationwide. West Virginia's April 2017 unemployment rate (4.8 percent) was its lowest recorded jobless rate since October 2008. The unemployment rate for Illinois (4.7 percent) was its lowest since February 2007, while the unemployment rate for Oregon in April 2017 (3.7 percent) was its lowest since the series began in 1976.
State | April 2017 unemployment rate(p) | April 2016 unemployment rate | 12-month change(p) | Statistically significant? |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama |
5.4% | 5.8% | -0.4 | No |
Alaska |
6.6 | 6.6 | 0.0 | No |
Arizona |
5.0 | 5.4 | -0.4 | No |
Arkansas |
3.5 | 4.1 | -0.6 | No |
California |
4.8 | 5.5 | -0.7 | Yes |
Colorado |
2.3 | 3.3 | -1.0 | Yes |
Connecticut |
4.9 | 5.4 | -0.5 | No |
Delaware |
4.6 | 4.4 | 0.2 | No |
District of Columbia |
5.9 | 6.1 | -0.2 | No |
Florida |
4.5 | 4.9 | -0.4 | No |
Georgia |
5.0 | 5.4 | -0.4 | No |
Hawaii |
2.7 | 3.1 | -0.4 | No |
Idaho |
3.4 | 3.8 | -0.4 | Yes |
Illinois |
4.7 | 6.0 | -1.3 | Yes |
Indiana |
3.6 | 4.7 | -1.1 | Yes |
Iowa |
3.1 | 3.8 | -0.7 | Yes |
Kansas |
3.7 | 4.1 | -0.4 | No |
Kentucky |
5.1 | 5.0 | 0.1 | No |
Louisiana |
5.8 | 6.2 | -0.4 | No |
Maine |
3.0 | 3.8 | -0.8 | Yes |
Maryland |
4.3 | 4.4 | -0.1 | No |
Massachusetts |
3.9 | 4.0 | -0.1 | No |
Michigan |
4.7 | 4.9 | -0.2 | No |
Minnesota |
3.8 | 3.8 | 0.0 | No |
Mississippi |
5.0 | 6.0 | -1.0 | Yes |
Missouri |
3.9 | 4.5 | -0.6 | No |
Montana |
3.8 | 4.2 | -0.4 | No |
Nebraska |
3.0 | 3.2 | -0.2 | No |
Nevada |
4.7 | 5.9 | -1.2 | Yes |
New Hampshire |
2.8 | 2.8 | 0.0 | No |
New Jersey |
4.1 | 5.1 | -1.0 | Yes |
New Mexico |
6.7 | 6.6 | 0.1 | No |
New York |
4.3 | 4.8 | -0.5 | Yes |
North Carolina |
4.7 | 5.0 | -0.3 | No |
North Dakota |
2.7 | 3.3 | -0.6 | Yes |
Ohio |
5.0 | 5.0 | 0.0 | No |
Oklahoma |
4.3 | 4.9 | -0.6 | No |
Oregon |
3.7 | 5.0 | -1.3 | Yes |
Pennsylvania |
4.9 | 5.5 | -0.6 | No |
Rhode Island |
4.3 | 5.4 | -1.1 | Yes |
South Carolina |
4.3 | 5.2 | -0.9 | Yes |
South Dakota |
2.8 | 2.7 | 0.1 | No |
Tennessee |
4.7 | 4.6 | 0.1 | No |
Texas |
5.0 | 4.6 | 0.4 | No |
Utah |
3.1 | 3.5 | -0.4 | No |
Vermont |
3.1 | 3.3 | -0.2 | No |
Virginia |
3.8 | 4.0 | -0.2 | No |
Washington |
4.6 | 5.6 | -1.0 | Yes |
West Virginia |
4.8 | 6.1 | -1.3 | Yes |
Wisconsin |
3.2 | 4.1 | -0.9 | Yes |
Wyoming |
4.3 | 5.6 | -1.3 | Yes |
Footnotes: (p)Preliminary. |
Nineteen states had statistically significant unemployment rate changes from April 2016 to April 2017, all of which were decreases. Nevada (−1.2 percent), Indiana (−1.1 percent), and Rhode Island (−1.1 percent) also had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases of more than 1.0 percent.
In April 2017, Colorado had the lowest unemployment rate (2.3 percent), followed by Hawaii and North Dakota (2.7 percent each). New Mexico (6.7 percent) and Alaska (6.6 percent) had the highest unemployment rates.
The state unemployment 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 "State Employment and Unemployment — April 2017" (HTML) (PDF). For more charts and tables related to state employment and unemployment, see the State unemployment chart package.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Illinois, Oregon, West Virginia, Wyoming have largest 12-month jobless rate drops in April 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/illinois-oregon-west-virginia-wyoming-have-largest-12-month-jobless-rate-drops-in-april-2017.htm (visited October 31, 2024).