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Changes in Unemployment Rate by State

From: WalletHub

September’s jobs report showed a slowdown in growth. The economy gained 263,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, down from 315,000 the previous month. In September, there were notable gains in sectors including health care and leisure and hospitality.

Now, the U.S. unemployment rate sits at 3.5%. We have come a long way from the nearly historic high of 14.7% in April 2020, due to a combination of vaccinations and states removing restrictions. However, inflation and the potential of a recession threaten to push the unemployment rate higher again if Federal Reserve rate increases are not able to stave them off.

In order to take stock of how unemployment rates are changing throughout the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on six key metrics that compare unemployment rate statistics from the latest month for which data is available (September 2022) to key dates in 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019. 

Main Findings

State Rank
Minnesota 1
North Dakota 2
Vermont 3
New Hampshire 4
Missouri 5
Florida 6
Utah 7
Virginia 8
South Dakota 9
Nebraska 10
New Jersey 11
Alabama 12
Rhode Island 13
Iowa 14
Georgia 15
Kansas 16
Louisiana 17
Massachusetts 18
Idaho 19
Indiana 20
Montana 21
Wyoming 22
Hawaii 23
Wisconsin 24
Mississippi 25
Maine 26
California 27
South Carolina 28
Connecticut 29
Pennsylvania 30
Oklahoma 31
Tennessee 32
Colorado 33
Washington 34
North Carolina 35
Maryland 36
Arkansas 37
New York 38
Arizona 39
Michigan 40
New Mexico 41
West Virginia 42
Oregon 43
Ohio 44
Kentucky 45
Texas 46
Delaware 47
Nevada 48
District of Columbia 49
Alaska 50
Illinois 51


Unemployment Rate Changes by State

Overall Rank  State Unemployment Rate (September 2022)  Change in Unemployment (September 2022 vs August 2022)  Change in Unemployment (September 2022 vs September 2021)  Change in Unemployment (September 2022 vs September 2020)  Change in Unemployment (September 2022 vs September 2019)  Not Seasonally Adjusted Continued Claims (September 2022 vs August 2022)
1 Minnesota 2.0% 5.9% -36.1% -68.3% -44.1% -10.5%
2 North Dakota 2.2% -1.8% -30.1% -60.5% 7.0% -41.0%
3 Vermont 2.1% 3.0% -30.8% -51.6% -20.4% -32.6%
4 New Hampshire 2.2% 6.9% -31.5% -63.8% -20.1% -32.9%
5 Missouri 2.4% -2.1% -39.7% -59.4% -23.0% -28.7%
6 Florida 2.5% -8.9% -34.0% -70.0% -17.1% -7.1%
7 Utah 2.1% 1.9% -12.7% -49.2% -10.8% -3.3%
8 Virginia 2.6% -0.8% -22.8% -58.7% -3.1% -23.8%
9 South Dakota 2.3% 0.9% -22.9% -40.1% -15.6% -6.2%
10 Nebraska 2.2% 5.7% -8.7% -31.6% -28.9% -18.9%
11 New Jersey 3.3% -18.0% -43.1% -59.4% -6.3% -18.3%
12 Alabama 2.6% 1.1% -17.3% -57.2% -10.4% -17.4%
13 Rhode Island 3.1% 8.0% -42.7% -67.9% -15.3% -33.2%
14 Iowa 2.7% 4.0% -32.4% -41.8% -3.2% -20.1%
15 Georgia 2.8% -1.0% -18.9% -53.2% -17.9% -14.4%
16 Kansas 2.6% 3.4% -13.2% -49.1% -15.8% -9.0%
17 Louisiana 3.4% -4.9% -29.3% -61.7% -28.8% -13.4%
18 Massachusetts 3.4% -4.1% -33.2% -65.3% 12.1% -20.9%
19 Idaho 2.8% 4.8% -13.1% -38.1% -0.9% -24.9%
20 Indiana 2.8% 1.7% -4.5% -54.2% -13.0% -6.7%
21 Montana 2.9% 3.4% -6.8% -39.6% -17.0% -20.9%
22 Wyoming 3.3% 4.6% -21.3% -41.9% -19.0% -20.1%
23 Hawaii 3.5% -13.1% -26.7% -73.1% 71.6% -5.9%
24 Wisconsin 3.2% 3.7% -5.1% -43.3% -2.9% -27.6%
25 Mississippi 3.6% 1.6% -26.2% -47.8% -36.2% -16.8%
26 Maine 3.3% 5.1% -27.7% -25.0% 11.9% -23.4%
27 California 3.9% -4.8% -38.7% -61.3% -5.6% -5.3%
28 South Carolina 3.2% 1.2% -15.6% -45.0% 33.2% -9.3%
29 Connecticut 4.0% -0.9% -26.4% -54.2% 12.6% -43.8%
30 Pennsylvania 4.1% -3.3% -29.2% -54.6% -11.4% -35.2%
31 Oklahoma 3.2% 5.1% 3.0% -44.0% 2.7% -17.8%
32 Tennessee 3.4% -0.2% -9.4% -50.1% 1.6% -7.2%
33 Colorado 3.4% -1.9% -26.8% -43.8% 40.3% -5.9%
34 Washington 3.7% 0.6% -20.7% -51.2% -8.8% -2.9%
35 North Carolina 3.6% 2.6% -18.8% -41.7% -6.6% -7.1%
36 Maryland 4.0% -7.0% -30.2% -40.6% 5.2% -10.1%
37 Arkansas 3.5% 3.9% 0.9% -39.7% -0.8% -15.1%
38 New York 4.3% -8.9% -28.5% -58.6% 6.1% -15.1%
39 Arizona 3.7% 6.8% -9.7% -46.7% -20.3% -9.4%
40 Michigan 4.1% 0.1% -26.0% -52.5% -2.1% -12.6%
41 New Mexico 4.2% -4.3% -31.9% -52.7% -12.1% -3.5%
42 West Virginia 4.0% 1.7% -12.5% -46.8% -21.2% -16.8%
43 Oregon 3.8% 2.7% -13.5% -47.5% 12.0% -10.1%
44 Ohio 4.0% 1.3% -14.2% -46.9% -7.8% -12.6%
45 Kentucky 3.8% -0.3% -19.4% -22.7% -7.2% -8.4%
46 Texas 4.0% -2.3% -20.3% -45.9% 16.9% -5.5%
47 Delaware 4.3% -4.7% -14.7% -43.3% 14.9% -28.7%
48 Nevada 4.4% 1.2% -19.7% -67.5% 15.6% -4.2%
49 District of Columbia 4.7% -9.0% -27.4% -46.3% -9.6% -8.6%
50 Alaska 4.4% -4.1% -23.5% -39.7% -16.6% 1.7%
51 Illinois 4.5% 0.2% -17.3% -49.0% 19.7% -13.6%

 

Change in Unemployment (2022 September vs 2022 August)
Biggest Decrease
  • 1. New Jersey
  • 2. Hawaii
  • 3. District of Columbia
  • 4. Florida
  • 5. New York
Change in Unemployment (2022 September vs 2022 August)
Smallest Decrease
  • 47. Nebraska
  • 48. Minnesota
  • 49. Arizona
  • 50. New Hampshire
  • 51. Rhode Island
Change in Unemployment (2022 September vs 2021 September)
Biggest Decrease
  • 1. New Jersey
  • 2. Rhode Island
  • 3. Missouri
  • 4. California
  • 5. Minnesota
Change in Unemployment (2022 September vs 2021 September)
Smallest Decrease
  • 47. Montana
  • 48. Wisconsin
  • 49. Indiana
  • 50. Arkansas
  • 51. Oklahoma