Unemployment rates were lower in 6 states over the year ended May 2026

South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in May 2026, 2.1 percent. The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 6.1 percent, followed by California, 5.3 percent. In total, 18 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.3 percent, 7 states and the District had higher rates, and 25 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Sixteen states had unemployment rate increases from May 2025, the largest of which were in Connecticut (+1.3 percentage points) and Florida (+1.1 points). Six states had over-the-year rate decreases, the largest of which was in Ohio (-1.0 percentage point). Twenty-eight 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 — May 2026." We also have charts and maps of state employment and unemployment data.