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All states had unemployment rates below 10.0 percent in February 2021

March 31, 2021

Unemployment rates were highest in Hawaii (9.2 percent) and New York (8.9 percent) in February 2021. South Dakota (2.9 percent) and Utah (3.0 percent) had the lowest rates. This marked the first time since March 2020 when all 50 states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rates under 10.0 percent.

State unemployment rates from January 2020 to February 2021
State Jan 2020 Feb 2020 Mar 2020 Apr 2020 May 2020 Jun 2020 Jul 2020 Aug 2020 Sep 2020 Oct 2020 Nov 2020 Dec 2020 Jan 2021 Feb 2021

Hawaii

2.0% 2.1% 2.1% 21.9% 21.9% 14.1% 14.1% 14.1% 14.8% 14.0% 10.3% 10.3% 10.3% 9.2%

New York

3.8 3.9 3.9 16.2 15.7 15.0 14.7 11.7 10.0 8.7 8.7 8.7 8.8 8.9

California

4.2 4.3 4.5 16.0 15.6 14.1 13.2 12.3 10.6 9.8 8.7 9.3 9.0 8.5

Connecticut

3.7 3.7 3.8 8.6 11.4 11.4 11.3 8.4 8.3 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.1 8.5

Nevada

3.7 3.7 6.4 29.5 24.5 15.4 16.6 14.5 13.0 12.0 8.7 8.2 8.5 8.3

New Mexico

5.1 5.3 5.4 10.0 10.0 9.8 12.5 9.3 8.6 8.5 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.3

District of Columbia

4.9 5.0 5.2 11.1 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.8 8.7 8.8 8.8 8.8 8.4 8.1

New Jersey

3.7 3.7 3.8 16.6 16.5 16.3 13.1 11.0 7.8 7.7 10.2 7.7 7.8 7.8

Louisiana

5.1 5.2 5.3 13.1 13.1 9.4 9.1 8.2 8.0 7.9 7.9 7.9 7.6 7.6

Illinois

3.5 3.6 3.7 16.5 15.4 14.2 12.0 11.1 10.4 8.1 8.1 8.0 7.7 7.4

Pennsylvania

4.8 5.0 5.1 16.2 13.5 13.3 13.0 10.2 7.1 7.0 7.1 7.1 7.3 7.3

Rhode Island

3.8 4.0 4.0 17.4 12.9 10.9 14.0 12.6 10.9 7.3 7.9 7.9 7.2 7.3

Massachusetts

2.8 2.8 2.7 16.4 15.3 14.8 9.8 9.3 8.9 8.5 8.4 8.4 7.8 7.1

Arizona

4.8 4.9 5.0 14.2 10.6 10.7 10.4 7.0 6.9 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.7 6.9

Texas

3.6 3.7 4.9 12.9 11.6 10.2 9.3 6.9 7.9 7.3 7.2 6.9 6.8 6.9

Alaska

5.0 5.1 5.1 11.8 11.6 11.3 11.0 7.2 7.0 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.6 6.6

Colorado

2.7 2.8 4.7 12.1 11.6 11.3 7.4 7.1 7.0 6.9 6.9 6.9 6.6 6.6

Delaware

4.3 4.5 4.8 13.4 13.3 12.9 8.3 7.9 7.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.1 6.3

Mississippi

5.6 5.8 6.0 15.7 11.0 9.6 8.5 7.8 7.2 6.9 6.7 6.6 6.4 6.3

Maryland

3.4 3.5 3.5 9.0 9.0 8.6 8.7 8.6 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.8 6.4 6.2

West Virginia

5.0 5.1 5.3 15.6 11.9 10.5 9.4 8.5 7.9 7.4 7.0 6.7 6.5 6.2

Oregon

3.4 3.5 3.6 13.2 11.7 10.3 9.6 8.4 7.5 7.0 6.6 6.3 6.2 6.1

North Carolina

3.5 3.6 3.9 13.5 13.5 8.8 8.8 6.8 7.3 6.8 6.4 6.1 5.9 5.7

Washington

4.0 4.1 5.3 16.3 12.5 10.8 10.8 9.1 8.0 7.0 6.7 6.3 6.0 5.6

Wyoming

4.4 4.8 5.1 5.5 8.5 7.4 6.8 6.2 5.7 5.4 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.3

Kentucky

4.1 4.2 4.2 16.9 10.9 5.7 5.6 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.3 5.2

Michigan

3.7 3.7 3.7 23.6 20.8 14.1 9.0 8.5 8.2 8.1 8.2 8.2 5.7 5.2

South Carolina

2.6 2.8 3.0 11.5 11.5 7.7 7.6 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.3 5.2

Virginia

2.5 2.5 2.6 11.3 8.5 8.8 7.9 7.0 6.6 6.1 5.8 5.6 5.3 5.2

Ohio

4.5 4.7 4.9 16.4 14.9 10.3 9.3 9.0 7.4 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.3 5.0

Tennessee

3.7 3.9 4.0 15.8 9.6 9.3 8.9 8.1 7.9 7.8 5.6 5.6 5.1 4.9

Georgia

3.3 3.5 3.6 12.5 9.4 8.4 7.6 7.0 6.5 5.9 5.6 5.3 5.1 4.8

Maine

3.0 3.1 3.1 9.1 8.3 5.3 8.8 5.2 4.9 4.8 4.9 5.0 5.2 4.8

Florida

3.3 3.3 4.9 14.0 14.2 11.6 11.5 7.9 7.2 5.8 5.4 5.1 4.8 4.7

North Dakota

2.2 2.3 2.3 8.7 8.7 6.2 6.2 6.1 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.7

Arkansas

3.7 3.8 3.9 10.0 8.5 7.8 7.1 6.5 5.9 5.6 5.3 4.9 4.6 4.5

Oklahoma

3.1 3.1 3.2 13.0 9.5 8.2 7.2 6.3 5.7 5.2 4.8 4.5 4.4 4.4

Minnesota

3.2 3.3 3.5 9.0 11.3 8.9 7.6 6.6 5.8 5.3 5.0 4.7 4.5 4.3

Missouri

3.6 3.6 3.7 12.5 9.6 8.1 6.8 6.0 5.4 5.0 4.7 4.4 4.3 4.2

Alabama

2.7 2.6 2.6 13.2 7.9 7.7 7.4 7.1 6.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.3 4.0

Indiana

3.2 3.2 3.3 16.9 12.0 10.1 8.6 7.3 6.3 5.6 5.0 4.6 4.2 4.0

Montana

3.7 3.7 3.8 11.9 9.1 7.6 6.6 5.8 5.2 4.7 4.5 4.2 4.0 3.9

Wisconsin

3.3 3.3 3.2 14.8 10.4 8.6 7.2 6.1 5.2 4.8 4.4 4.0 3.8 3.8

Iowa

2.8 2.9 2.9 11.1 8.3 7.1 6.1 5.3 4.7 4.2 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.6

Idaho

2.6 2.6 2.7 11.6 8.3 7.0 5.9 4.9 6.0 4.8 4.3 3.8 3.5 3.3

New Hampshire

2.6 2.6 2.7 16.0 13.4 10.3 8.1 6.6 5.5 4.7 4.2 3.8 3.6 3.3

Kansas

3.1 3.2 3.2 12.6 9.0 7.0 6.6 6.2 6.1 4.7 4.7 4.7 3.4 3.2

Nebraska

2.9 3.0 3.1 7.4 5.4 6.6 4.4 4.0 3.8 3.6 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.1

Vermont

2.5 2.5 2.6 14.8 9.3 7.7 6.4 5.4 4.6 4.0 3.7 3.5 3.2 3.1

Utah

2.4 2.5 2.5 10.1 7.6 6.3 5.4 4.8 4.2 3.8 3.5 3.3 3.1 3.0

South Dakota

2.9 2.9 2.9 9.2 7.0 6.1 5.4 4.7 4.0 3.7 3.6 3.3 3.1 2.9

In February 2021, 27 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 6.2 percent, 12 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 11 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

The largest unemployment rate increase from February 2020 occurred in Hawaii (+7.1 percentage points). The next largest over-the-year jobless rate increase was in New York (+5.0 percentage points), with another 10 states and the District of Columbia experiencing rate increases of at least 3.0 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 — February 2021." 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, All states had unemployment rates below 10.0 percent in February 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/all-states-had-unemployment-rates-below-10-0-percent-in-february-2021.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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