Unemployment rates were lower in March in 4 states, higher in 1 state, and stable in 45 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Seventeen states had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier and 33 states and the District had little or no change. The national unemployment rate was unchanged from February at 4.1 percent but was 0.4 percentage point lower than in March 2017.
Non-farm payroll employment increased in 2 states in March 2018 and was essentially unchanged in 48 states and the District of Columbia. Over the year, 24 states added non-farm payroll jobs and 26 states and the District were essentially unchanged.
Unemployment
Hawaii had the lowest unemployment rate in March, 2.1 percent. The rates in Kentucky (4.0 percent) and Maine (2.7 percent) set new series lows. (All state series begin in 1976.) Alaska had the highest jobless rate, 7.3 percent. In total, 17 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.1 percent, 9 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 24 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
In March, four states had unemployment rate decreases: Maine and New Mexico (-0.2 percentage point each) and Ohio and Wyoming (-0.1 point each). The only over-the-month rate increase was in Maryland (+0.1 percentage point). The remaining 45 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
Seventeen states had unemployment rate changes from March 2017, all of which were decreases. The largest declines occurred in Alabama, Kentucky, and Louisiana (-1.2 percentage points each).
Non-farm Payroll Employment
Two states had over-the-month increases in non-farm payroll employment in March 2018: Texas (+32,000, or +0.3 percent) and Utah (+6,300, or +0.4 percent).
Twenty-four states had over-the-year increases in non-farm payroll employment in March. The largest job gains occurred in California (+321,000), Texas (+294,100), and Florida (+173,100). The largest percentage gains occurred in Idaho and Utah (+3.3 percent each), followed by Nevada (+2.9 percent).
All data in this article was provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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