Economic News Release
Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (State and Metro Area)
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State Employment and Unemployment Summary
For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Friday, December 20, 2019				USDL-19-2196
Employment:	(202) 691-6559  *  sminfo@bls.gov    *  www.bls.gov/sae
Unemployment:	(202) 691-6392  *  lausinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/lau
Media contact:	(202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov
STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- NOVEMBER 2019
Unemployment rates were lower in November in 7 states, higher in 5 states,
and stable in 38 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Seven states had jobless rate decreases
from a year earlier, 2 states had increases, and 41 states and the District
had little or no change. The national unemployment rate, 3.5 percent, was
little changed over the month and from November 2018.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 6 states in November 2019, decreased
in 1, and was essentially unchanged in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
Over the year, 25 states added nonfarm payroll jobs and 25 states and the
District were essentially unchanged.
This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian
labor force and unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of
households. These data pertain to individuals by where they reside. The
employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm
employment, hours, and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on
payrolls defined by where the establishments are located. For more information
about the concepts and statistical methodologies used by these two programs,
see the Technical Note.
Vermont had the lowest unemployment rate in November, 2.3 percent. The rates
in Alabama (2.7 percent), Alaska (6.1 percent), Georgia (3.3 percent), Illinois
(3.8 percent), Oregon (3.9 percent), and South Carolina (2.4 percent) set new
series lows. (All state series begin in 1976.) Alaska had the highest jobless
rate, 6.1 percent. In total, 14 states had unemployment rates lower than the
U.S. figure of 3.5 percent, 12 states and the District of Columbia had higher
rates, and 24 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that
of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)
North Carolina and South Carolina had the largest over-the-month unemployment
rate decreases in November (-0.2 percentage point each). Louisiana and New
Jersey had the largest rate increases (+0.2 percentage point each). Thirty-
eight 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. (See table
B.)
Alabama had the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease (-1.1 percentage
points), closely followed by Colorado (-1.0 point). The largest rate increase
from November 2018 occurred in Mississippi (+0.9 percentage point). (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in six states in November 2019. The largest
job gains occurred in Texas (+37,500), Michigan (+24,800), and Virginia (+17,700).
The largest percentage gain occurred in Michigan (+0.6 percent), followed by
Virginia (+0.4 percent) and Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington (+0.3 percent
each). Employment decreased in November in Illinois (-17,200, or -0.3 percent).
(See tables D and 3.)
Twenty-five states had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment in
November. The largest job gains occurred in Texas (+336,700), California (+321,800),
and Florida (+217,400). The largest percentage gains occurred in Utah (+3.2 percent)
and Idaho and Texas (+2.7 percent each). (See table E.)
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for November 2019
is scheduled to be released on Friday, January 3, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The
State Employment and Unemployment news release for December 2019 is scheduled to
be released on Friday, January 24, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly different
from that of the U.S., November 2019, seasonally adjusted
State                |          Rate(p)
United States (1) ...................|           3.5
Alabama .............................|           2.7
Alaska ..............................|           6.1
Arizona .............................|           4.7
California ..........................|           3.9
Colorado ............................|           2.6
District of Columbia ................|           5.3
Florida .............................|           3.1
Hawaii ..............................|           2.6
Idaho ...............................|           2.9
Iowa ................................|           2.6
Kentucky ............................|           4.4
Louisiana ...........................|           4.7
Maine ...............................|           2.8
Massachusetts .......................|           2.9
Mississippi .........................|           5.6
New Hampshire .......................|           2.6
New Mexico ..........................|           4.8
New York ............................|           4.0
North Dakota ........................|           2.5
Ohio ................................|           4.2
Pennsylvania ........................|           4.3
South Carolina ......................|           2.4
Utah ................................|           2.4
Vermont .............................|           2.3
Virginia ............................|           2.6
Washington ..........................|           4.4
West Virginia .......................|           4.9
(1) Data are not preliminary.
(p) = preliminary.
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from October 2019 to November 2019, seasonally adjusted
|          Rate         |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State              |  October  |  November |    change(p)
|    2019   |  2019(p)  |
Delaware .......................|     3.7   |     3.8   |       0.1
Florida ........................|     3.2   |     3.1   |       -.1
Georgia ........................|     3.4   |     3.3   |       -.1
Louisiana ......................|     4.5   |     4.7   |        .2
New Jersey .....................|     3.2   |     3.4   |        .2
North Carolina .................|     4.0   |     3.8   |       -.2
Oregon .........................|     4.0   |     3.9   |       -.1
Pennsylvania ...................|     4.2   |     4.3   |        .1
South Carolina .................|     2.6   |     2.4   |       -.2
South Dakota ...................|     3.0   |     3.1   |        .1
Utah ...........................|     2.5   |     2.4   |       -.1
Washington .....................|     4.5   |     4.4   |       -.1
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from November 2018 to November 2019, seasonally adjusted
|-----------|-----------|  Over-the-year
State              |  November |  November |    change(p)
Alabama ........................|     3.8   |     2.7   |      -1.1
California .....................|     4.1   |     3.9   |       -.2
Colorado .......................|     3.6   |     2.6   |      -1.0
Maine ..........................|     3.5   |     2.8   |       -.7
Mississippi ....................|     4.7   |     5.6   |        .9
Nebraska .......................|     2.8   |     3.1   |        .3
Vermont ........................|     2.6   |     2.3   |       -.3
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
October 2019 to November 2019, seasonally adjusted
|             |             | Over-the-month change(p)
State              |   October   |   November  |---------------------------
|     2019    |    2019(p)  |    Level    |   Percent
Illinois .....................|   6,198,700 |   6,181,500 |     -17,200 |     -0.3
Michigan .....................|   4,422,300 |   4,447,100 |      24,800 |       .6
Oregon .......................|   1,953,100 |   1,959,400 |       6,300 |       .3
Tennessee ....................|   3,124,600 |   3,133,800 |       9,200 |       .3
Texas ........................|  12,913,900 |  12,951,400 |      37,500 |       .3
Virginia .....................|   4,031,600 |   4,049,300 |      17,700 |       .4
Washington ...................|   3,504,700 |   3,516,900 |      12,200 |       .3
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
November 2018 to November 2019, seasonally adjusted
|             |             | Over-the-year change(p)
State              |   November  |   November  |---------------------------
|     2018    |    2019(p)  |    Level    |    Percent
Alabama ......................|   2,051,200 |   2,100,000 |      48,800 |      2.4
Arizona ......................|   2,890,900 |   2,961,000 |      70,100 |      2.4
Arkansas .....................|   1,267,200 |   1,283,100 |      15,900 |      1.3
California ...................|  17,282,500 |  17,604,300 |     321,800 |      1.9
Colorado .....................|   2,739,700 |   2,796,800 |      57,100 |      2.1
Florida ......................|   8,872,500 |   9,089,900 |     217,400 |      2.5
Georgia ......................|   4,576,300 |   4,645,300 |      69,000 |      1.5
Idaho ........................|     741,700 |     761,400 |      19,700 |      2.7
Kansas .......................|   1,423,200 |   1,440,000 |      16,800 |      1.2
Kentucky .....................|   1,938,400 |   1,962,200 |      23,800 |      1.2
|             |             |             |
Massachusetts ................|   3,650,200 |   3,698,800 |      48,600 |      1.3
Missouri .....................|   2,889,800 |   2,926,900 |      37,100 |      1.3
Nebraska .....................|   1,024,100 |   1,038,000 |      13,900 |      1.4
Nevada .......................|   1,407,600 |   1,444,500 |      36,900 |      2.6
New Mexico ...................|     845,900 |     862,200 |      16,300 |      1.9
New York .....................|   9,709,800 |   9,826,200 |     116,400 |      1.2
North Carolina ...............|   4,500,700 |   4,592,000 |      91,300 |      2.0
Oregon .......................|   1,922,600 |   1,959,400 |      36,800 |      1.9
Rhode Island .................|     496,000 |     506,700 |      10,700 |      2.2
South Carolina ...............|   2,158,400 |   2,190,300 |      31,900 |      1.5
Tennessee ....................|   3,087,100 |   3,133,800 |      46,700 |      1.5
Texas ........................|  12,614,700 |  12,951,400 |     336,700 |      2.7
Utah .........................|   1,533,300 |   1,582,800 |      49,500 |      3.2
Virginia .....................|   4,009,200 |   4,049,300 |      40,100 |      1.0
Washington ...................|   3,430,400 |   3,516,900 |      86,500 |      2.5
State Employment and Unemployment Technical Note
Table 1. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and selected area, seasonally adjusted
Table 2. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and selected area, not seasonally adjusted
Table 3. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and selected industry sector, seasonally adjusted
Table 4. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and selected industry sector, not seasonally adjusted
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Last Modified Date: December 20, 2019
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