Nov 23, 2010

REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- OCTOBER 2010


Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in October. Nineteen states
and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate decreases, 14 states regis-
tered rate increases, and 17 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia posted
unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 16 states reported increases, and
5 states had no change. The national jobless rate was unchanged in October at 9.6
percent but was down from 10.1 percent a year earlier.

In October, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states and the District of
Columbia, decreased in 6 states, and was unchanged in 3 states. The largest over-
the-month increases in employment occurred in Texas (+47,900), New York (+40,600),
California (+38,900), Michigan (+19,000), and Arkansas (+17,400). The largest over-
the-month percentage increases in employment were in Arkansas (+1.5 percent), New
Mexico (+0.8 percent), and Maine and North Dakota (+0.7 percent each). The largest
over-the-month employment decreases were in Delaware (-3,000), Missouri (-2,900),
and Nevada and Virginia (-2,200 each). The largest over-the-month percentage de-
creases in employment occurred in Delaware (-0.7 percent), Nevada (-0.2 percent),
and Missouri and Virginia (-0.1 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm payroll
employment increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in
14 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was
reported in the District of Columbia (+2.9 percent), followed by New Hampshire
(+2.6 percent), Texas (+1.7 percent), and Minnesota and North Dakota (+1.6 percent
each). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in
Nevada (-2.4 percent), followed by New Jersey (-1.0 percent), Montana (-0.9 percent),
Rhode Island (-0.8 percent), and Missouri (-0.7 percent).

Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

The West reported the highest regional unemployment rate in October, 10.8 percent,
while the Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 8.5 percent. No region experienced a
statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate change, but the Midwest
and Northeast registered significant rate changes from a year earlier (-0.8 and -0.5
percentage point, respectively). (See table 1.)

Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific continued to report the highest
jobless rate, 11.5 percent in October. The West North Central registered the lowest
rate, 7.1 percent, followed by the West South Central, at 7.9 percent. The only div-
ision with a statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate change was
New England (-0.2 percentage point). Over the year, two divisions posted measurable
rate decreases: the East South Central (-1.3 percentage points) and East North Central
(-0.9 point). The Mountain experienced the only statistically significant unemployment
rate increase from a year earlier (+0.6 percentage point).

State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Nevada continued to register the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.2
percent in October. The states with the next highest rates were Michigan, 12.8 per-
cent, and California, 12.4 percent. North Dakota reported the lowest jobless rate,
3.8 percent, followed by South Dakota and Nebraska, at 4.5 and 4.7 percent, respec-
tively. In total, 27 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S.
figure of 9.6 percent, 5 states recorded measurably higher rates, and 18 states and
the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of
the nation. (See tables A and 3.)

In October, two states experienced statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from September: Maine and Massachusetts (-0.3 percentage point each). The remaining 48
states and the District of Columbia registered 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.

Eleven states reported statistically significant over-the-year jobless rate decreases
in October, the largest of which were in Alabama (-1.9 percentage points) and Michigan
(-1.6 points). The District of Columbia also posted a significant over-the-year
unemployment rate decrease (-1.7 percentage points). Utah recorded the only significant
rate increase from October 2009 (+0.9 percentage point). The remaining 38 states regis-
tered unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier.
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