Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–June 17, 2016
Unemployment rates were significantly higher in May in 5 states, lower in 4 states and the District of Columbia, and stable in 41 states, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sixteen states and the District had notable unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 2 states had increases, and 32 states had no significant change. The national jobless rate declined by 0.3 percentage point from April to 4.7 percent and was 0.8 point lower than in May 2015.
Nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 4 states in May 2016, increased in 3 states and the District of Columbia, and was essentially unchanged in 43 states. Over the year, 32 states and the District added appreciable numbers of nonfarm payroll jobs, 2 states lost jobs, and 16 states were essentially unchanged.
Regional Unemployment
In May, the only region with an unemployment rate significantly different from that of the U.S. was the West at 5.1 percent. Over the month, the South had the only statistically significant unemployment rate change (-0.1 percentage point). Significant over-the-year rate decreases occurred in three regions: the West (-0.8 percentage point), Northeast (-0.6 point), and South (-0.5 point). (See table 1.)
Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest unemployment rate, 3.8 percent in May. The East North Central had the highest rate, 5.3 percent, closely followed by the Pacific, 5.2 percent. Over the month, the South Atlantic had the only statistically significant jobless rate decline (-0.2 percentage point), while the Mountain had the only notable rate increase (+0.1 point). Seven of the 9 divisions had significant rate changes from a year earlier, all of which were declines. The largest of these decreases occurred in the Pacific (-1.0 percentage point).
State Unemployment
South Dakota and New Hampshire had the lowest jobless rates in May, 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. The rate in Arkansas (3.8 percent) set a new series low. (All region, division, and state series begin in 1976.) Alaska had the highest unemployment rate, 6.7 percent. In total, 16 states had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 4.7 percent, 15 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 19 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)
In May, five states had statistically significant unemployment rate increases. The largest of these increases occurred in Colorado and Nevada (+0.3 percentage point each). Four states and the District of Columbia had notable rate decreases, the largest of which were in North Carolina and the District (-0.3 percentage point each). The remaining 41 states had jobless rates that were not significantly different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant unemployment rate decreases from May 2015. The largest declines were in Tennessee (-1.7 percentage points) and Arkansas (-1.6 points). The only significant over-the-year rate increases occurred in Wyoming (+1.4 percentage points) and North Dakota (+0.4 point). (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
In May 2016, four states had statistically significant over-the-month decreases in nonfarm payroll employment and three states and the District of Columbia had significant increases. The job losses were in Tennessee (-13,400), Michigan (-12,700), New Hampshire (-4,000), and Montana (-2,700). In percentage terms, Montana and New Hampshire had the largest declines (-0.6 percent each), followed
by Tennessee (-0.5 percent) and Michigan (-0.3 percent). The significant employment increases were in Florida (+24,500), Washington (+8,700), the District (+6,800), and West Virginia (+6,600). In percentage terms, the largest increases were in the District and West Virginia (+0.9 percent each), followed by Florida and Washington (+0.3 percent each). (See tables D and 5.)
Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment in May. The largest job gains occurred in California (+440,300), Florida (+253,900), and Texas (+171,800). The largest percentage gains were in Oregon (+3.4 percent) and Utah (+3.3 percent), followed by Florida, Idaho, and Washington (+3.2 percent each). Two states had significant over-the-year declines in employment: North Dakota (-15,600, or -3.4 percent) and Wyoming (-8,800, or -3.0 percent). (See table E.)
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The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for May is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 29, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for June is scheduled to be released on Friday, July 22, 2016, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
The tables referenced above can be viewed at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm
Source: http://www.bls.gov
