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Unemployment rates lower in 20 states over year ended November 2023

December 28, 2023

From November 2022 to November 2023, unemployment rates were lower in 20 states, higher in 15 states and the District of Columbia, and essentially unchanged in 15 states.

State unemployment rates, November 2023, seasonally adjusted

State unemployment rates, November 2023, seasonally adjusted
State November 2023 unemployment rate November 2022 unemployment rate 12-month change (in percentage points)

Alabama

2.4 2.6 -0.2

Alaska

4.4 3.7 0.7

Arizona

4.3 4.0 0.3

Arkansas

3.3 3.5 -0.2

California

4.9 4.1 0.8

Colorado

3.3 2.8 0.5

Connecticut

3.6 4.0 -0.4

Delaware

4.2 4.7 -0.5

District of Columbia

5.0 4.2 0.8

Florida

2.9 2.7 0.2

Georgia

3.4 3.1 0.3

Hawaii

2.9 3.7 -0.8

Idaho

3.3 2.8 0.5

Illinois

4.7 4.6 0.1

Indiana

3.7 3.2 0.5

Iowa

3.3 3.1 0.2

Kansas

2.9 2.9 0.0

Kentucky

4.3 3.9 0.4

Louisiana

3.5 3.6 -0.1

Maine

3.0 3.1 -0.1

Maryland

1.8 3.1 -1.3

Massachusetts

2.9 3.7 -0.8

Michigan

4.3 4.4 -0.1

Minnesota

3.1 3.0 0.1

Mississippi

3.3 4.1 -0.8

Missouri

3.2 2.7 0.5

Montana

3.0 2.7 0.3

Nebraska

2.3 2.7 -0.4

Nevada

5.4 5.5 -0.1

New Hampshire

2.3 2.9 -0.6

New Jersey

4.7 3.3 1.4

New Mexico

3.9 3.5 0.4

New York

4.3 4.1 0.2

North Carolina

3.5 3.9 -0.4

North Dakota

1.9 2.1 -0.2

Ohio

3.6 4.1 -0.5

Oklahoma

3.3 3.2 0.1

Oregon

3.6 4.8 -1.2

Pennsylvania

3.4 4.4 -1.0

Rhode Island

2.9 3.3 -0.4

South Carolina

3.0 3.3 -0.3

South Dakota

2.0 2.2 -0.2

Tennessee

3.5 3.5 0.0

Texas

4.1 3.8 0.3

Utah

2.8 2.4 0.4

Vermont

2.1 3.1 -1.0

Virginia

2.9 3.2 -0.3

Washington

4.0 4.6 -0.6

West Virginia

4.2 4.1 0.1

Wisconsin

3.3 3.0 0.3

Wyoming

3.0 3.9 -0.9

Maryland had the lowest jobless rate in November, at 1.8 percent. The next lowest rate was in North Dakota, at 1.9 percent. Nevada had the highest unemployment rate, 5.4 percent. In total, 19 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.7 percent, 5 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 26 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Maryland had the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease (−1.3 percentage points). New Jersey had the largest rate increase (+1.4 percentage 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 — November 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 lower in 20 states over year ended November 2023 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/unemployment-rates-lower-in-20-states-over-year-ended-november-2023.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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