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Unemployment rates higher in 19 states over the year ended April 2026

June 02, 2026

From April 2025 to April 2026, 19 states had unemployment rate increases from a year earlier, 6 states had decreases, and 25 states and the District of Columbia had little change. The national unemployment rate, 4.3 percent, was unchanged over the month and was little changed from April 2025.

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Chart Data

Change in unemployment rates for states, April 2025 to April 2026, seasonally adjusted

Change in unemployment rates for states, April 2025 to April 2026, seasonally adjusted
State	Over-the-year change (percentage points)	April 2025 rate (percent)	April 2026 rate (percent)
Alabama	-0.1	2.9	2.8
Alaska	0.1	4.6	4.7
Arizona	0.5	4.2	4.7
Arkansas	0.4	3.9	4.3
California	-0.1	5.4	5.3
Colorado	-0.3	4.2	3.9
Connecticut	1.2	3.8	5.0
Delaware	0.8	4.5	5.3
District of Columbia	0.1	6.1	6.2
Florida	1.1	3.7	4.8
Georgia	0.2	3.3	3.5
Hawaii	0.0	2.5	2.5
Idaho	0.0	3.6	3.6
Illinois	0.6	4.5	5.1
Indiana	-0.5	3.7	3.2
Iowa	-0.3	3.6	3.3
Kansas	0.1	3.8	3.9
Kentucky	-0.4	4.7	4.3
Louisiana	0.1	4.3	4.4
Maine	-0.2	3.3	3.1
Maryland	0.6	3.8	4.4
Massachusetts	0.3	4.4	4.7
Michigan	-0.2	5.2	5.0
Minnesota	0.9	3.6	4.5
Mississippi	-0.1	3.9	3.8
Missouri	-0.2	4.0	3.8
Montana	0.4	3.1	3.5
Nebraska	0.1	2.9	3.0
Nevada	0.0	5.3	5.3
New Hampshire	-0.1	3.2	3.1
New Jersey	-0.3	5.1	4.8
New Mexico	0.8	4.1	4.9
New York	0.5	4.1	4.6
North Carolina	-0.1	3.8	3.7
North Dakota	-0.2	2.6	2.4
Ohio	-0.9	4.8	3.9
Oklahoma	0.9	3.1	4.0
Oregon	0.1	5.1	5.2
Pennsylvania	0.0	4.2	4.2
Rhode Island	0.1	4.4	4.5
South Carolina	0.6	4.2	4.8
South Dakota	0.2	2.0	2.2
Tennessee	0.1	3.5	3.6
Texas	0.2	4.1	4.3
Utah	0.4	3.4	3.8
Vermont	0.0	2.6	2.6
Virginia	0.5	3.3	3.8
Washington	0.7	4.5	5.2
West Virginia	0.5	3.9	4.4
Wisconsin	0.3	3.2	3.5
Wyoming	0.3	3.2	3.5

The largest over-the-year unemployment rate increases were in Connecticut (+1.2 percentage points) and Florida (+1.1 points). Six states had over-the-year rate decreases, the largest of which was in Ohio (−0.9 percentage point). Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a year 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 — April 2026." We also have 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 higher in 19 states over the year ended April 2026 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/unemployment-rates-higher-in-19-states-over-the-year-ended-april-2026.htm (visited June 02, 2026).

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