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Hawaii and Nevada have the highest unemployment rates in October 2020
November 27, 2020
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate increases from October 2019 to October 2020, the largest of which occurred in Hawaii (+11.6 percentage points) and Nevada (+8.3 points).
Change in unemployment rates for states from October 2019 to October 2020
State
12-month change
October 2020 unemployment rate
October 2019 unemployment rate
Alabama
3.1 percentage points
5.8%
2.7%
Alaska
-0.2
5.9
6.1
Arizona
3.5
8.0
4.5
Arkansas
2.7
6.2
3.5
California
5.4
9.3
3.9
Colorado
3.9
6.4
2.5
Connecticut
2.3
6.1
3.8
Delaware
1.6
5.6
4.0
District of Columbia
2.9
8.2
5.3
Florida
3.6
6.5
2.9
Georgia
1.3
4.5
3.2
Hawaii
11.6
14.3
2.7
Idaho
2.6
5.5
2.9
Illinois
3.1
6.8
3.7
Indiana
1.8
5.0
3.2
Iowa
0.8
3.6
2.8
Kansas
2.2
5.3
3.1
Kentucky
3.1
7.4
4.3
Louisiana
4.2
9.4
5.2
Maine
2.4
5.4
3.0
Maryland
4.4
7.8
3.4
Massachusetts
4.6
7.4
2.8
Michigan
1.6
5.5
3.9
Minnesota
1.3
4.6
3.3
Mississippi
1.8
7.4
5.6
Missouri
1.2
4.6
3.4
Montana
1.4
4.9
3.5
Nebraska
0.0
3.0
3.0
Nevada
8.3
12.0
3.7
New Hampshire
1.6
4.2
2.6
New Jersey
4.5
8.2
3.7
New Mexico
3.3
8.1
4.8
New York
5.7
9.6
3.9
North Carolina
2.6
6.3
3.7
North Dakota
2.4
4.8
2.4
Ohio
1.5
5.6
4.1
Oklahoma
2.7
6.1
3.4
Oregon
3.5
6.9
3.4
Pennsylvania
2.7
7.3
4.6
Rhode Island
3.5
7.0
3.5
South Carolina
1.8
4.2
2.4
South Dakota
0.2
3.6
3.4
Tennessee
4.1
7.4
3.3
Texas
3.4
6.9
3.5
Utah
1.7
4.1
2.4
Vermont
0.8
3.2
2.4
Virginia
2.6
5.3
2.7
Washington
2.0
6.0
4.0
West Virginia
1.3
6.4
5.1
Wisconsin
2.2
5.7
3.5
Wyoming
1.8
5.5
3.7
Hawaii had the highest unemployment rate in October, 14.3 percent, followed by Nevada, 12.0 percent. Nebraska and Vermont had the lowest rates, 3.0 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively. In total, 26 states had jobless rates lower than the U.S. figure of 6.9 percent, 9 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 15 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
United States Department of Labor
