Unemployment Rates by State-
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released the individual state unemployment rates and once again NORTH DAKOTA has the lowest unemployment rates… literally begging for employees. They have “man camps” where men from all over the country are showing up and parking RV’s and cashing in on the high paying jobs available in the pipeline industry. And because the pay is so good it is driving up the wages everywhere else as Denny’s and McDonalds have to pay $15/hr in order to attract employees. Stories abound of labor being so scarce that Walmart quit stocking shelves and just places the pallets straight on the floor in the aisles and people grab the stock straight from the pallet.
On the other end of the spectrum we have Nevada where the gambling industry is hurting and they have 11.8% unemployment. This is followed by Rhode Island, California and New Jersey at 10.5%, 10.2% and 9.8% respectively.
Source: BLS Data is based on Unemployment rates for selected states, seasonally adjusted, September 2012
The full Unemployment Data for all 50 States plus D.C. is:
| Unemployment Rates for States | ||
| Monthly Rankings | ||
| Seasonally Adjusted | ||
| Sept. 2012 | ||
| Rank | State | Rate |
| 1 | NORTH DAKOTA | 3 |
| 2 | NEBRASKA | 3.9 |
| 3 | SOUTH DAKOTA | 4.4 |
| 4 | IOWA | 5.2 |
| 4 | OKLAHOMA | 5.2 |
| 6 | UTAH | 5.4 |
| 6 | VERMONT | 5.4 |
| 6 | WYOMING | 5.4 |
| 9 | HAWAII | 5.7 |
| 9 | NEW HAMPSHIRE | 5.7 |
| 11 | MINNESOTA | 5.8 |
| 12 | KANSAS | 5.9 |
| 12 | VIRGINIA | 5.9 |
| 14 | MONTANA | 6.1 |
| 15 | NEW MEXICO | 6.4 |
| 16 | MASSACHUSETTS | 6.5 |
| 17 | DELAWARE | 6.8 |
| 17 | TEXAS | 6.8 |
| 19 | MARYLAND | 6.9 |
| 19 | MISSOURI | 6.9 |
| 21 | LOUISIANA | 7 |
| 21 | OHIO | 7 |
| 23 | ARKANSAS | 7.1 |
| 23 | IDAHO | 7.1 |
| 25 | WISCONSIN | 7.3 |
| 26 | ALASKA | 7.5 |
| 27 | MAINE | 7.6 |
| 27 | WEST VIRGINIA | 7.6 |
| 29 | COLORADO | 8 |
| 30 | ARIZONA | 8.2 |
| 30 | INDIANA | 8.2 |
| 30 | PENNSYLVANIA | 8.2 |
| 33 | ALABAMA | 8.3 |
| 33 | TENNESSEE | 8.3 |
| 35 | KENTUCKY | 8.4 |
| 36 | WASHINGTON | 8.5 |
| 37 | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 8.7 |
| 37 | FLORIDA | 8.7 |
| 37 | OREGON | 8.7 |
| 40 | ILLINOIS | 8.8 |
| 41 | CONNECTICUT | 8.9 |
| 41 | NEW YORK | 8.9 |
| 43 | GEORGIA | 9 |
| 44 | SOUTH CAROLINA | 9.1 |
| 45 | MISSISSIPPI | 9.2 |
| 46 | MICHIGAN | 9.3 |
| 47 | NORTH CAROLINA | 9.6 |
| 48 | NEW JERSEY | 9.8 |
| 49 | CALIFORNIA | 10.2 |
| 50 | RHODE ISLAND | 10.5 |
| 51 | NEVADA | 11.8 |
Several months ago we published a correlation chart between state leglislature political afiliation and unemployment rates see May State Unemployment Rates to see how state unemployment rates have changed. To see how the current rankings relate to political affiliation see table below.
| By State Legislature Affiliation | ||
| Sept. 2012p | ||
| State | Unemployment Rate | State Legislature Affiliation |
| NORTH DAKOTA | 3 | Republican |
| NEBRASKA | 3.9 | Mixed |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | 4.4 | Republican |
| OKLAHOMA | 5.2 | Republican |
| IOWA | 5.2 | Mixed |
| UTAH | 5.4 | Republican |
| WYOMING | 5.4 | Republican |
| VERMONT | 5.4 | Democrat |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 5.7 | Republican |
| HAWAII | 5.7 | Democrat |
| MINNESOTA | 5.8 | Republican |
| KANSAS | 5.9 | Republican |
| VIRGINIA | 5.9 | Republican |
| MONTANA | 6.1 | Republican |
| NEW MEXICO | 6.4 | Democrat |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 6.5 | Democrat |
| TEXAS | 6.8 | Republican |
| DELAWARE | 6.8 | Democrat |
| MISSOURI | 6.9 | Mixed |
| MARYLAND | 6.9 | Democrat |
| LOUISIANA | 7 | Republican |
| OHIO | 7 | Mixed |
| IDAHO | 7.1 | Republican |
| ARKANSAS | 7.1 | Democrat |
| WISCONSIN | 7.3 | Republican |
| ALASKA | 7.5 | Republican |
| MAINE | 7.6 | Republican |
| WEST VIRGINIA | 7.6 | Democrat |
| COLORADO | 8 | Mixed |
| ARIZONA | 8.2 | Republican |
| INDIANA | 8.2 | Republican |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 8.2 | Republican |
| ALABAMA | 8.3 | Republican |
| TENNESSEE | 8.3 | Republican |
| KENTUCKY | 8.4 | Mixed |
| WASHINGTON | 8.5 | Democrat |
| FLORIDA | 8.7 | Republican |
| OREGON | 8.7 | Mixed |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 8.7 | Democrat |
| ILLINOIS | 8.8 | Democrat |
| NEW YORK | 8.9 | Mixed |
| CONNECTICUT | 8.9 | Democrat |
| GEORGIA | 9 | Republican |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 9.1 | Republican |
| MISSISSIPPI | 9.2 | Republican |
| MICHIGAN | 9.3 | Republican |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 9.6 | Republican |
| NEW JERSEY | 9.8 | Democrat |
| CALIFORNIA | 10.2 | Democrat |
| RHODE ISLAND | 10.5 | Democrat |
| NEVADA | 11.8 | Democrat |
The average unemployment rate in Republican controlled states was 7.118%. Out of the top 14 states 2 are “mixed” leglisslatures and two are Democrat while the other ten are Republican.
The average unemployment rate in states where there was no clear control of Republican or Democrat i.e. “Mixed” states was essentially the same at 7.125%
But the average unemployment rate in Democrat contolled states was 8.1% with the top four highest unemployment rate states being controlled by Democrats. This does not answer the question of causation however. Do states with high unemployment vote Democrat or does a Democratically controlled state cause higher unemployment?
See Also:
May Unemployment Statistics by State
Is the Government Fudging Unemployment Numbers?
How U.S. Unemployment Rates Compare to other OECD Countries
The Difference a Degree Makes in Unemployment Levels
