Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—June 19, 2015. Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in May. Twenty-five states had unemployment rate increases from April, 9 states and the District of Columbia had decreases, and 16 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier and five states had increases. The national jobless rate was essentially unchanged from April at 5.5 percent and was 0.8 percentage point lower than in May 2014.
In May 2015, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 12 states, and was unchanged in Montana. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in California (+54,200), New York (+42,700), and Texas (+33,200). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in Wisconsin (-8,600), followed by North Dakota (-5,300) and South Carolina (-4,900). The largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment occurred in New Hampshire and Rhode Island (+0.7 percent each), followed by Michigan and Nevada (+0.6 percent each). The largest over-the-month percentage declines in employment occurred in North Dakota (-1.1 percent), Vermont (-0.7 percent), and Wyoming (-0.6 percent). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in West Virginia (-2.1 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage increases occurred in Utah (+3.9 percent) and Washington (+3.6 percent).
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In May, the Midwest had the lowest regional unemployment rate, 5.1 percent, while the West had the highest rate, 5.8 percent. Over the month, no region had a statistically significant unemployment rate change. Significant over-the-year rate decreases occurred in all four regions: the West (-1.0 percentage point), Midwest (-0.9 point), and Northeast and South (-0.7 point each). (See table 1.)
Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest unemployment rate, 4.3 percent in May. The Pacific had the highest rate, 6.1 percent. Over the month, no division had a statistically significant jobless rate change. All nine divisions had significant rate declines from a year earlier, with the largest of these decreases occurring in the East North Central, East South Central, and Pacific (-1.2 percentage points each).
State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Nebraska had the lowest jobless rate in May, 2.6 percent. West Virginia had the highest rate among the states, 7.2 percent. The District of Columbia had a rate of 7.3 percent. In total, 21 states had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 5.5 percent, 10 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 19 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)
In May, three states had statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate increases: North Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Dakota (+0.2 percentage point each). Three states had significant over-the-month rate declines: Indiana (-0.3 percentage point), Connecticut (-0.2 point), and Washington (-0.1 point). The remaining 44 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not measurably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
Twenty-four states had statistically significant unemployment rate declines from May 2014, the largest of which occurred in Rhode Island (-2.0 percentage points). The only significant over-the-year rate increase occurred in North Dakota (+0.4 percentage point). The remaining 25 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier. (See table B.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In May 2015, 20 states had statistically significant over-the-month changes in employment, 16 of which were positive. The largest significant job gains occurred in California (+54,200), New York (+42,700), and Texas (+33,200). The significant job decreases occurred in North Dakota (-5,300), Nebraska (-4,800), Vermont (-2,100), and Wyoming (-1,900). (See tables C and 5.)
Over the year, 32 states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant increases in employment and West Virginia had a significant decrease (-16,600). The largest significant over-the-year job increase occurred in California (+465,700), followed by Texas (+286,400) and Florida (+268,500). (See table D.)
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The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for May 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 1, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for June 2015 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, July 21, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
To view the tables referenced above, see: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/laus.nr0.htm
Source: bls.gov
