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Unemployment rates increased in 10 states in August 2023

September 27, 2023

Unemployment rates were higher in August in 10 states, lower in 2 states, and stable in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Twenty-five states had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier, 9 states and the District had increases, and 16 states had little change. The national unemployment rate, 3.8 percent, rose by 0.3 percentage point over the month but was little changed from August 2022.

Unemployment rates and number of unemployed, by state, August 2023

 Unemployment rates and number of unemployed, by state, August 2023
State Unemployment rate 12-month change in unemployment rate Number of unemployed

Alabama

2.1 -0.5 48,605

Alaska

3.9 0.3 14,101

Arizona

3.8 -0.2 141,623

Arkansas

2.7 -0.7 37,285

California

4.6 0.8 894,743

Colorado

3.1 0.5 99,818

Connecticut

3.6 -0.3 67,331

Delaware

4.1 -0.4 20,813

District of Columbia

5.0 1.1 19,517

Florida

2.7 0.0 303,016

Georgia

3.3 0.2 174,134

Hawaii

2.8 -0.8 19,054

Idaho

3.0 0.2 28,955

Illinois

4.1 -0.4 266,173

Indiana

3.4 0.3 117,388

Iowa

2.9 0.0 50,220

Kansas

2.7 -0.1 41,807

Kentucky

4.0 0.0 81,966

Louisiana

3.3 -0.2 68,814

Maine

2.5 -0.2 17,145

Maryland

1.7 -1.7 54,811

Massachusetts

2.6 -1.3 98,134

Michigan

3.7 -0.6 183,254

Minnesota

3.1 0.4 97,038

Mississippi

3.2 -0.7 39,167

Missouri

2.8 0.4 87,958

Montana

2.5 -0.2 14,688

Nebraska

2.0 -0.6 21,140

Nevada

5.4 0.0 85,631

New Hampshire

1.8 -0.9 13,783

New Jersey

4.2 1.2 203,211

New Mexico

3.7 0.3 35,846

New York

3.9 0.0 384,731

North Carolina

3.3 -0.6 173,576

North Dakota

1.9 -0.1 7,888

Ohio

3.4 -0.7 195,662

Oklahoma

2.8 -0.4 54,331

Oregon

3.4 -0.9 73,539

Pennsylvania

3.5 -0.8 226,264

Rhode Island

2.7 -0.7 15,209

South Carolina

3.0 -0.3 73,032

South Dakota

1.9 -0.3 9,072

Tennessee

3.1 -0.2 105,115

Texas

4.1 0.4 622,929

Utah

2.5 0.1 45,782

Vermont

1.8 -1.0 6,401

Virginia

2.5 -0.3 112,959

Washington

3.6 -0.7 146,118

West Virginia

3.6 -0.5 28,264

Wisconsin

2.9 -0.2 89,487

Wyoming

2.9 -0.8 8,740

Puerto Rico

6.2 0.4 72,840

Maryland had the lowest jobless rate in August, 1.7 percent. The next lowest rates were in New Hampshire and Vermont, 1.8 percent each. The rates in Louisiana (3.3 percent), Maryland (1.7 percent), and North Dakota (1.9 percent) set new lows. All state data began in 1976.

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate, 5.4 percent. In total, 27 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.8 percent, 2 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 21 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Twenty-five states had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, the largest of which was in Maryland (−1.7 percentage points). Nine states and the District of Columbia had rate increases from August 2022, the largest of which was in New Jersey (+1.2 percentage points). Sixteen states had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a year earlier.

California had the highest number of unemployed people in August 2023 at 894,743, followed by Texas at 622,929 and New York at 384,731.  The states with the lowest number of unemployed people were Vermont (6,401), North Dakota (7,888), and Wyoming (8,740).

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 2023." We also have more charts and maps of state employment and unemployment data.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Unemployment rates increased in 10 states in August 2023 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/unemployment-rates-increased-in-10-states-in-august-2023.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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