state unemployment rates

California at 4.3% has Lowest Unemployment Since 1976

March 27, 2018 by Tim McMahon

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ most recent unemployment data broken down by state (released in March for the month of February), Hawaii had the lowest unemployment at 2.1% followed by North Dakota and New Hampshire at 2.6%. Vermont and Nebraska were also at 2.8%.

The rates in California (4.3%), Maine (2.9%), Mississippi (4.5%), and Wisconsin (2.9%) set new series lows. (All state series begin in 1976.)

Although not technically a state, Puerto Rico had the highest jobless rate at 10.6% followed by Alaska at 7.3% while New Mexico had 5.8%, the District of Columbia had 5.7% and West Virginia had 5.4%.

The following table lists the [Read more…] about California at 4.3% has Lowest Unemployment Since 1976

High Unemployment Rates in Alaska and D.C.

July 29, 2017 by Tim McMahon

What Causes a State to Have a Lower Unemployment Rate?

Nationwide according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics the Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment rate is 4.4% but when you look a bit closer you will see that there is quite a bit of variation by state.

States with the Highest Unemployment Rates

Alaska had the highest jobless rate, at 6.8%, followed by New Mexico, at 6.4% and Washington D.C. at 6.2%.

22% of Alaskan Natives live below the poverty level.

Some of Alaska’s problems are understandable. Alaska has high transportation costs, little industry, a massively spread out population and massive poverty. As a matter of fact among Alaskan Native Americans the poverty rate is double the U.S. Average. The alcoholism mortality rate is 6 times higher than the national average. Obesity and diabetes rates are much higher and injury related deaths are much more frequent. But the situation among Native American tribes in Alaska is actually much worse than the statistics show.

Domestic violence is rampant among Native Americans in Alaska and not just in the home. I spoke with a teacher at a Native American School and they found it necessary to create two distinct schools to separate the boys from the girls because the girls were consistently being raped in the bathrooms. These rapes were routinely unreported to authorities because of the prevailing feeling that nothing would be done about it. And despite the massive under-reporting, statistics still show much higher rates of domestic violence than the average.

Opposite Conditions, Similar Rates

Looking at the various unemployment rates in the states, Alaska’s problems seem obvious but upon closer examination one begins to wonder. The third highest unemployment rate is Washington D.C. which is almost a polar opposite to all the factors in Alaska. D.C. is small, densely populated, has unlimited infrastructure, no oil reserves but it can draw funds from the entire country and it still has a surprisingly high unemployment rate at 6.2%. So two polar opposite places have similar unemployment rates.

Similar Conditions, Different Rates

So let’s look at it the other way around and look at [Read more…] about High Unemployment Rates in Alaska and D.C.

State Employment and Unemployment Rates- September 2012

October 29, 2012 by Tim McMahon

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