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Iowa had the highest employment–population ratio in 2019, 68.5 percent, followed by Minnesota, 68.0 percent. West Virginia (52.4 percent) and Mississippi (52.8 percent) had the lowest employment–population ratios among the states. Overall, 22 states and the District of Columbia had employment–population ratios in 2019 that were significantly higher than the U.S. ratio of 60.8 percent. Seventeen states had ratios that were appreciably below the U.S. ratio. Alaska had its lowest employment–population ratio, 59.9 percent, since comparable data have been available back to 1976.
State | 2019 | 2018 | Over-the-year change |
---|---|---|---|
Iowa |
68.5% | 67.0% | 1.5 percentage point(s) |
Minnesota |
68.0 | 67.9 | 0.1 |
Nebraska |
67.8 | 67.5 | 0.3 |
North Dakota |
67.6 | 67.8 | -0.2 |
Colorado |
67.4 | 66.7 | 0.7 |
New Hampshire |
67.3 | 66.8 | 0.5 |
District of Columbia |
67.1 | 66.5 | 0.6 |
South Dakota |
66.7 | 66.8 | -0.1 |
Utah |
66.6 | 66.2 | 0.4 |
Maryland |
66.0 | 65.2 | 0.8 |
Massachusetts |
65.8 | 65.2 | 0.6 |
Wisconsin |
64.8 | 65.6 | -0.8 |
Kansas |
64.6 | 64.3 | 0.3 |
Vermont |
64.5 | 65.1 | -0.6 |
Virginia |
64.3 | 63.5 | 0.8 |
Connecticut |
63.9 | 63.2 | 0.7 |
Idaho |
62.6 | 62.4 | 0.2 |
Wyoming |
62.6 | 62.5 | 0.1 |
Indiana |
62.4 | 62.7 | -0.3 |
Washington |
62.3 | 61.3 | 1.0 |
Rhode Island |
62.0 | 61.8 | 0.2 |
Missouri |
62.0 | 61.7 | 0.3 |
Illinois |
61.9 | 61.7 | 0.2 |
Texas |
61.8 | 61.5 | 0.3 |
New Jersey |
61.3 | 60.2 | 1.1 |
Nevada |
61.1 | 60.5 | 0.6 |
Montana |
60.6 | 60.5 | 0.1 |
Maine |
60.5 | 61.0 | -0.5 |
Pennsylvania |
60.4 | 59.9 | 0.5 |
Ohio |
60.2 | 59.9 | 0.3 |
Delaware |
60.2 | 60.2 | 0.0 |
Georgia |
60.2 | 60.3 | -0.1 |
Tennessee |
60.1 | 59.0 | 1.1 |
Alaska |
59.9 | 60.4 | -0.5 |
California |
59.9 | 59.6 | 0.3 |
Oregon |
59.4 | 59.7 | -0.3 |
Hawaii |
59.3 | 60.2 | -0.9 |
Michigan |
59.2 | 59.0 | 0.2 |
North Carolina |
59.2 | 58.8 | 0.4 |
Arizona |
59.2 | 58.2 | 1.0 |
Oklahoma |
58.8 | 59.0 | -0.2 |
New York |
58.4 | 58.2 | 0.2 |
Florida |
57.5 | 57.1 | 0.4 |
South Carolina |
56.8 | 56.4 | 0.4 |
Kentucky |
56.8 | 56.5 | 0.3 |
Alabama |
56.3 | 55.4 | 0.9 |
Arkansas |
56.1 | 55.9 | 0.2 |
Louisiana |
55.8 | 55.9 | -0.1 |
New Mexico |
55.4 | 54.7 | 0.7 |
Mississippi |
52.8 | 52.8 | 0.0 |
West Virginia |
52.4 | 51.2 | 1.2 |
Puerto Rico |
37.4 | 36.7 | 0.7 |
The largest employment–population ratio increase in 2019 occurred in Iowa (+1.5 percentage points), followed by West Virginia (+1.2 points) and New Jersey and Tennessee (+1.1 points each). Twelve other states also had significant increases in their ratios. Hawaii (−0.9 percentage point) and Wisconsin (−0.8 percentage point) were the only states with over-the-year decreases in their employment–population ratios. The remaining 32 states and the District of Columbia had ratios that were not notably different from those of the previous year. (Some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the statistically significant changes.)
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. To learn more, see “Regional and State Unemployment – 2019 Annual Averages.” The employment–population ratio is the proportion of the civilian population age 16 years and older who are employed.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska had highest employment–population ratios in 2019 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/iowa-minnesota-and-nebraska-had-highest-employment-population-ratios-in-2019.htm (visited October 31, 2024).