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Unemployment rate 16.1 percent in Massachusetts, 4.5 percent in Utah, in July 2020

August 27, 2020

Massachusetts had the highest unemployment rate in July 2020, 16.1 percent, followed by New York, 15.9 percent. Nevada, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, and Hawaii also had unemployment rates above 13.0 percent in July. The rates in Connecticut (10.2 percent), New Mexico (12.7 percent), and New York (15.9 percent) set new series highs. (State unemployment data begin in 1976.)

Unemployment rates by state, January 2020–July 2020
State Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar 2020 Apr 2020 May 2020 Jun 2020 Jul 2020

Massachusetts

2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 16.2% 16.6% 17.7% 16.1%

New York

3.8 3.7 4.1 15.3 14.5 15.6 15.9

Nevada

3.6 3.6 6.9 30.1 25.3 15.2 14.0

New Jersey

3.8 3.8 3.7 16.3 15.4 16.8 13.8

Pennsylvania

4.7 4.7 5.8 16.1 13.4 13.2 13.7

California

3.9 3.9 5.5 16.4 16.4 14.9 13.3

Hawaii

2.7 2.7 2.4 23.8 23.5 13.4 13.1

New Mexico

4.8 4.8 6.3 11.9 9.1 8.4 12.7

Alaska

6.0 5.8 5.2 13.5 12.7 12.4 11.6

Florida

2.8 2.8 4.4 13.8 13.7 10.3 11.3

Illinois

3.5 3.4 4.2 17.2 15.3 14.5 11.3

Rhode Island

3.4 3.4 4.7 18.1 16.4 12.6 11.2

Mississippi

5.5 5.4 5.1 16.3 10.5 8.8 10.8

Arizona

4.5 4.5 6.1 13.4 9.0 10.0 10.6

Delaware

4.0 3.9 5.0 14.9 15.9 12.6 10.4

Oregon

3.3 3.3 3.5 14.9 14.3 11.6 10.4

Washington

3.9 3.8 5.1 16.3 15.1 10.0 10.3

Connecticut

3.7 3.8 3.4 8.3 9.6 10.1 10.2

Maine

3.1 3.2 3.0 10.4 9.4 6.7 9.9

West Virginia

5.0 4.9 6.0 15.9 12.9 10.5 9.9

Tennessee

3.3 3.4 3.3 15.5 11.0 9.6 9.5

Louisiana

5.3 5.2 6.7 15.1 14.2 9.5 9.4

Ohio

4.1 4.1 5.8 17.6 13.9 11.0 8.9

Michigan

3.8 3.6 4.3 24.0 21.3 14.9 8.7

South Carolina

2.4 2.5 3.2 12.8 12.4 8.7 8.6

North Carolina

3.6 3.6 4.3 12.9 12.8 7.5 8.5

District of Columbia

5.2 5.1 6.0 11.7 8.8 8.7 8.4

Vermont

2.4 2.4 3.1 16.5 12.8 9.5 8.3

New Hampshire

2.6 2.6 2.4 17.1 15.4 9.2 8.1

Texas

3.5 3.5 5.1 13.5 13.0 8.4 8.0

Virginia

2.7 2.6 3.3 11.2 9.0 8.1 8.0

Alabama

2.7 2.7 3.0 13.8 9.6 7.6 7.9

Indiana

3.1 3.1 3.0 17.5 12.3 11.1 7.8

Minnesota

3.2 3.1 2.9 8.7 9.9 8.6 7.7

Georgia

3.1 3.1 4.6 12.6 9.4 7.6 7.6

Maryland

3.3 3.3 3.3 10.1 10.0 8.3 7.6

Colorado

2.5 2.5 5.2 12.2 10.2 10.6 7.4

Kansas

3.1 3.1 2.8 11.9 10.0 7.5 7.2

Arkansas

3.5 3.5 5.0 10.8 9.6 8.1 7.1

Oklahoma

3.3 3.2 2.9 14.7 12.6 6.4 7.1

Wyoming

3.7 3.7 3.8 9.6 8.8 7.6 7.1

Wisconsin

3.5 3.5 3.1 13.6 12.1 8.6 7.0

Missouri

3.5 3.5 3.9 10.2 10.1 7.8 6.9

Iowa

2.8 2.8 3.3 11.0 10.2 8.4 6.6

North Dakota

2.3 2.2 2.0 9.1 9.1 7.4 6.6

Montana

3.5 3.5 3.6 11.9 9.0 7.2 6.4

South Dakota

3.4 3.3 3.1 10.9 9.4 7.2 6.3

Kentucky

4.3 4.2 5.2 16.6 10.9 4.4 5.7

Idaho

2.8 2.7 2.5 11.8 9.0 5.8 5.0

Nebraska

2.9 2.9 4.0 8.7 5.3 5.5 4.8

Utah

2.5 2.5 3.8 10.4 8.6 5.3 4.5

Note: Data for the most recent month are preliminary.

Utah had the lowest unemployment rate in July, 4.5 percent, followed by Nebraska, 4.8 percent, and Idaho, 5.0 percent.

The largest unemployment rate decrease in July occurred in Michigan (−6.2 percentage points, as the jobless rate dropped from 14.9 percent to 8.7 percent). Rates declined over the month by at least 2.0 percentage points in an additional six states: Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware, and Ohio.

The largest over-the-month jobless rate increases occurred in New Mexico (+4.3 percentage points) and Maine (+3.2 points).

From July 2019 to July 2020, the largest unemployment rate increases occurred in Massachusetts (+13.2 percentage points) and New York (+12.0 points). Nevada, Hawaii, and New Jersey experienced increases more than 10.0 percentage points. The smallest over-the-year rate increases occurred in Kentucky (+1.4 percentage points) and Nebraska (+1.7 points).

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 "State Employment and Unemployment — July 2020." Also see more charts and maps on state employment and unemployment.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rate 16.1 percent in Massachusetts, 4.5 percent in Utah, in July 2020 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2020/unemployment-rate-16-point-1-percent-in-massachusetts-4-point-5-percent-in-utah-in-july-2020.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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