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Nebraska unemployment rate drops to 2.2 percent in August 2021, a new low

September 28, 2021

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in August 2021, at 7.7 percent, followed by California (7.5 percent) and New York, (7.4 percent). Nebraska had the lowest jobless rate, 2.2 percent, a new low. (All state data begin in 1976.)

State unemployment rates from January 2020 to August 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 Mar 2021

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% 3.8%

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 6.7

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 6.7

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 4.4

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 8.3

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 6.4 6.4

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 8.3

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 6.5

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 7.7

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 4.7

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 4.5

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 9.1

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 3.2

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 7.1

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 3.9

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 3.7 3.7

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 3.8 3.7

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 5.0

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 7.4

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 4.8

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 6.2

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 7.0 6.7

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 5.1

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 4.4 4.2

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 6.2

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 4.3 4.2

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 3.8

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 2.9

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 8.4 8.1

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 3.0

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 7.6

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 8.3

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 8.4

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 5.2

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 4.8 4.4

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 4.7

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 4.3

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 6.0

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 7.4 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 7.0

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 5.1

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 3.0 2.9

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 5.1

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 6.9

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 2.9

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 3.0 2.9

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 5.1

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 5.5

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 5.9

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 3.8

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 5.3
State unemployment rates from January 2020 to August 2021 - continued
State Apr 2021 May 2021 Jun 2021 Jul 2021 Aug 2021

Alabama

3.6% 3.4% 3.3% 3.2% 3.1%

Alaska

6.7 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.4

Arizona

6.7 6.7 6.8 6.6 6.2

Arkansas

4.4 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2

California

8.0 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.5

Colorado

6.4 6.2 6.2 6.1 5.9

Connecticut

8.1 8.1 7.7 7.3 7.2

Delaware

6.4 5.9 5.8 5.6 5.4

District of Columbia

7.5 7.2 7.0 6.7 6.5

Florida

4.8 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.0

Georgia

4.3 4.1 4.0 3.7 3.5

Hawaii

8.5 8.0 7.7 7.3 7.0

Idaho

3.1 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.9

Illinois

7.1 7.1 7.2 7.1 7.0

Indiana

3.9 4.0 4.1 4.1 4.1

Iowa

3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.1

Kansas

3.5 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.8

Kentucky

4.7 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.3

Louisiana

7.2 7.1 6.9 6.6 6.2

Maine

4.8 4.8 4.8 4.9 4.9

Maryland

6.2 6.1 6.2 6.0 5.9

Massachusetts

6.4 5.0 4.9 4.9 5.0

Michigan

4.9 5.0 5.0 4.8 4.7

Minnesota

4.1 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.8

Mississippi

6.2 6.1 6.2 6.1 6.0

Missouri

4.1 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.0

Montana

3.7 3.6 3.7 3.6 3.5

Nebraska

2.8 2.6 2.5 2.3 2.2

Nevada

8.0 7.8 7.8 7.7 7.7

New Hampshire

2.8 2.9 2.9 2.9 3.0

New Jersey

7.5 7.2 7.2 7.3 7.2

New Mexico

8.1 7.9 7.9 7.6 7.2

New York

8.2 7.8 7.7 7.6 7.4

North Carolina

5.0 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.3

North Dakota

4.2 4.0 4.0 3.9 3.6

Ohio

4.7 5.0 5.2 5.4 5.4

Oklahoma

4.1 3.9 3.7 3.5 3.2

Oregon

5.9 5.8 5.6 5.2 4.9

Pennsylvania

7.1 7.0 6.9 6.5 6.4

Rhode Island

6.3 6.0 5.9 5.7 5.8

South Carolina

5.0 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.2

South Dakota

2.8 2.8 2.9 2.9 2.9

Tennessee

5.0 5.0 4.9 4.7 4.6

Texas

6.7 6.6 6.5 6.2 5.9

Utah

2.8 2.7 2.7 2.6 2.6

Vermont

2.9 3.0 3.1 3.0 3.0

Virginia

4.7 4.5 4.3 4.2 4.0

Washington

5.4 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1

West Virginia

5.8 5.5 5.3 5.0 4.8

Wisconsin

3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9 3.9

Wyoming

5.4 5.4 5.4 5.2 4.9

In August, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 5.2 percent, 13 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 15 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Unemployment rates were lower in August in 15 states and the District of Columbia. Thirty-five states had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.

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 — August 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, Nebraska unemployment rate drops to 2.2 percent in August 2021, a new low at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2021/nebraska-unemployment-rate-drops-to-2-2-percent-in-august-2021-a-new-low.htm (visited October 10, 2024).

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