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.
North Dakota had highest proportion of people employed in 2016
March 02, 2017
In 2016, North Dakota had the highest employment–population ratio among the states, with 69.2 percent of the civilian working-age population employed. Four other states from the West North Central Census division rounded out the five highest statewide employment–population ratios: Nebraska (67.3 percent), South Dakota, Iowa (67.0 percent), and Minnesota (66.8 percent). West Virginia had the lowest employment–population ratio among the states (50.0 percent), as it has every year since this data series began in 1976.
Employment–population ratio by state, 2016 annual average
State
Employment
Civilian noninstitutional population
Employment–population ratio
Alabama
2,038,775
3,816,102
53.4%
Alaska
336,620
545,586
61.7
Arizona
3,066,264
5,373,502
57.1
Arkansas
1,288,994
2,310,506
55.8
California
18,065,043
30,668,583
58.9
Colorado
2,795,233
4,323,427
64.7
Connecticut
1,795,519
2,870,300
62.6
Delaware
451,973
756,092
59.8
District of Columbia
368,846
559,927
65.9
Florida
9,358,571
16,615,517
56.3
Georgia
4,656,255
7,886,360
59.0
Hawaii
664,690
1,093,285
60.8
Idaho
783,434
1,273,307
61.5
Illinois
6,154,867
10,031,244
61.4
Indiana
3,179,806
5,145,338
61.8
Iowa
1,638,288
2,444,678
67.0
Kansas
1,422,122
2,210,930
64.3
Kentucky
1,892,273
3,458,277
54.7
Louisiana
1,992,125
3,587,429
55.5
Maine
664,010
1,094,802
60.7
Maryland
3,034,131
4,726,239
64.2
Massachusetts
3,455,827
5,528,119
62.5
Michigan
4,599,049
7,896,171
58.2
Minnesota
2,884,091
4,317,092
66.8
Mississippi
1,205,779
2,285,371
52.8
Missouri
2,970,702
4,757,894
62.4
Montana
504,573
824,410
61.2
Nebraska
978,567
1,454,377
67.3
Nevada
1,346,008
2,296,985
58.6
New Hampshire
727,420
1,090,036
66.7
New Jersey
4,299,931
7,092,168
60.6
New Mexico
864,912
1,609,577
53.7
New York
9,121,323
15,817,666
57.7
North Carolina
4,629,329
7,891,982
58.7
North Dakota
403,067
582,149
69.2
Ohio
5,430,790
9,139,843
59.4
Oklahoma
1,739,362
2,987,732
58.2
Oregon
1,954,821
3,282,991
59.5
Pennsylvania
6,120,029
10,230,918
59.8
Rhode Island
522,812
857,347
61.0
South Carolina
2,186,740
3,886,849
56.3
South Dakota
440,299
656,781
67.0
Tennessee
2,984,259
5,217,269
57.2
Texas
12,671,801
20,861,611
60.7
Utah
1,459,703
2,199,968
66.4
Vermont
333,640
515,269
64.8
Virginia
4,070,260
6,542,152
62.2
Washington
3,445,880
5,722,480
60.2
West Virginia
736,427
1,472,400
50.0
Wisconsin
2,991,033
4,570,688
65.4
Wyoming
286,373
451,285
63.5
The employment–population ratio for the entire United States was 59.7 percent in 2016. Overall, 24 states and the District of Columbia had employment–population ratios that were significantly above the nationwide ratio, while 16 states had ratios that were appreciably below it. In 2016, Alaska (61.7 percent) and New Mexico (53.7 percent) both recorded their lowest employment–population ratios since the series began in 1976.
These data are from theLocal Area Unemployment Statistics program. The employment–population ratio is the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over who are employed. To learn more, see “Regional and State Unemployment — 2016 Annual Averages” (HTML) (PDF).
United States Department of Labor
