Minnesota had the lowest jobless rate in August 2022

Minnesota had the lowest jobless rate in August 2022, 1.9 percent. The next lowest rates were in New Hampshire and Utah, 2.0 percent each. The rate in Louisiana, 3.5 percent, set a new low (all state unemployment data begin in 1976). The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 5.1 percent, followed by New York, 4.7 percent. In total, 17 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.7 percent, 8 states and the District had higher rates, and 25 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

In August, 16 states had over-the-month unemployment rate increases, the largest of which were in Connecticut, Maryland, and New York (+0.4 percentage point each). Thirty-four states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier.

The largest unemployment rate decreases from August 2021 occurred in Rhode Island (-3.0 percentage points) and California (–2.9 points). The smallest over-the-year jobless rate declines occurred in Arkansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma (–0.4 percentage point each).

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "State Employment and Unemployment — August 2022." We also have more charts and maps on state employment and unemployment. Estimates for the most recent month are preliminary.