January State Unemployment Report: 43 States Post Unemployment Rate Decreases

Earlier this week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ("BLS) released the state unemployment numbers for the month of January.

According to the BLS, a total of 43 states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases for the month of January. One state posted an increase, while the remaining six recorded no change.

All 50 states recorded a decrease in their unemployment rates compared to January of 2013 - not a surprise given that the national unemployment rate was down 1.3% over the same period of time.

Non-farm payroll employment increased in 23 states in January, while the remaining 27 states posted decreases. The largest number of non-payroll jobs were created in Texas (33,900), Ohio (16,700) and Arizona (8,900) in January, while the largest decreases were posted by California (-31,500), Illinois (-27,600) and Kentucky (-18,500).

The largest yearly changes in non-farm payroll employment have been posted by Texas (+322,400), California (+319,600) and Florida (+192,800).

--

The states (including Puerto Rico) with the highest unemployment rates in January:

Puerto Rico with a rate of 15.2%
Rhode Island with a rate of 9.2%
Illinois with a rate of 8.7%
Nevada with a rate of 8.7%
California with a rate of 8.1%

The states with the lowest unemployment rates in January:

North Dakota with a rate of 2.6%
Nebraska with a rate of 3.5%
South Dakota with a rate of 3.6%
Utah with a rate of 3.9%
Vermont with a rate of 4.0%

--

The national unemployment rate in January was 6.6%.

Source: State Unemployment Rates

Keep reading