Technical information:
Employment: (202) 691-6559 USDL 08-1718
http://www.bls.gov/sae/
Unemployment: (202) 691-6392
http://www.bls.gov/lau/ For release: 10:00 A.M. (EST)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, November 21, 2008
REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: OCTOBER 2008
Regional and state unemployment rates were mostly higher in
October. Overall, 38 states and the District of Columbia recorded
over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 5 states registered de-
creases, and 7 states had no change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless
rates were up in 47 states and the District of Columbia, down in
1 state, and unchanged in 2 states. At 6.5 percent in October, the
national unemployment rate increased by 0.4 percentage point over the
month and 1.7 points over the year.
In October, nonfarm payroll employment rose in 10 states plus the
District of Columbia and fell in 40 states. The largest over-the-
month gains in the level of employment occurred in Texas (+23,000),
Missouri (+5,300), Louisiana (+5,000), the District of Columbia
(+1,500), and Kansas (+1,400). Louisiana and Wyoming experienced the
largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+0.3 percent
each), followed by the District of Columbia, Missouri, Montana, Texas,
and Vermont (+0.2 percent each). The largest over-the-month decrease
occurred in Washington (-29,300), where some 27,000 aerospace workers
in the transportation equipment industry were off payrolls in October
due to a strike. The states with the next largest decreases were
Florida (-27,300), California (-26,400), Michigan (-19,600), and
Arizona (-17,700). Washington (-1.0 percent) recorded the largest
over-the-month percentage decrease in employment, followed by Oregon
(-0.8 percent), Arizona (-0.7 percent), Mississippi (-0.6 percent),
and Michigan, Rhode Island, and South Dakota (-0.5 percent each).
Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 19 states and the
District of Columbia, decreased in 29 states, and was unchanged in
2 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employ-
ment occurred in Wyoming (+3.3 percent) and Texas (+2.2 percent),
followed by the District of Columbia (+1.5 percent), North Dakota
(+1.3 percent), and Montana and South Dakota (+1.2 percent each).
Rhode Island recorded the largest over-the-year percentage decrease
in employment (-3.0 percent), followed by Arizona (-2.6 percent),
Florida (-1.9 percent), and Idaho and Michigan (-1.7 percent each).
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In October, the West and Midwest regions again posted the highest
jobless rates, 7.1 and 6.7 percent, respectively. The Northeast at
5.8 percent and the South at 6.1 percent recorded the lowest unemploy-
ment rates. The West and South registered statistically significant
rate changes from the previous month (+0.5 and +0.2 percentage point,
respectively). All four regions reported significant jobless rate
increases from October 2007: the West (+2.2 percentage points), South
(+1.7 points), Midwest (+1.4 points), and Northeast (+1.3 points).
(See table 1.)
- 2 -
Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific and East North
Central again posted the highest unemployment rates in October, 7.8
and 7.3 percent, respectively. The West North Central recorded the
lowest jobless rate, 5.3 percent, followed closely by the West South
Central at 5.4 percent and the Mountain at 5.5 percent. Four divi-
sions reported statistically significant over-the-month unemployment
rate changes, all increases: the Pacific (+0.6 percentage point) and
the Mountain, South Atlantic, and West South Central (+0.3 point each).
Over the year, all nine divisions had significant rate increases: the
Pacific (+2.4 percentage points), South Atlantic (+2.1 points), East
South Central and Mountain (+1.7 points each), East North Central (+1.6
points), New England (+1.5 points), Middle Atlantic (+1.3 points), West
South Central (+1.1 points), and West North Central (+0.9 point).
State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In October, Michigan and Rhode Island reported the highest jobless
rates, 9.3 percent each. Twelve additional states recorded rates of
7.0 percent or more: California, 8.2 percent; South Carolina, 8.0
percent; Nevada, 7.6 percent; Alaska, 7.4 percent; Illinois, Ohio,
and Oregon, 7.3 percent each; Mississippi, 7.2 percent; and Florida,
Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, 7.0 percent each. The District
of Columbia had a rate of 7.4 percent. South Dakota and Wyoming re-
corded the lowest unemployment rates, 3.3 percent each, followed by
North Dakota, 3.4 percent; Utah, 3.5 percent; and Nebraska, 3.6 percent.
Overall, 9 states and the District of Columbia registered significantly
higher jobless rates than the U.S. figure of 6.5 percent, 26 states re-
ported measurably lower rates, and 15 states had rates little different
from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)
Oregon recorded the largest over-the-month unemployment rate increase
in October (+0.9 percentage point). Eighteen additional states and the
District of Columbia also experienced statistically significant rate in-
creases. The remaining 31 states registered October unemployment rates
that were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, though
some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the signifi-
cant changes. (See table B.)
Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had statistically
significant jobless rate increases from October 2007. Rhode Island re-
ported the largest rate increase from a year earlier (+4.2 percentage
points). The states with the next largest rate increases were Florida
(+2.7 points), Idaho (+2.6 points), and California, Georgia, and Nevada
(+2.5 points each). Thirty other states and the District of Columbia
posted over-the-year rate increases of more than 1.0 percentage point,
and 9 additional states had smaller, but also statistically significant,
rate increases from October 2007. The remaining five states recorded
October 2008 jobless rates that were not appreciably different from
those of a year earlier. (See table C.)
Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Between September and October 2008, seven states registered statis-
tically significant changes in employment, all of which were decreases.
The statistically significant job losses occurred in Washington (-29,300),
Florida (-27,300), Michigan (-19,600), Arizona (-17,700), Oregon (-14,100),
Colorado (-10,600), and Mississippi (-6,900). (See tables D and 5.)
- 3 -
Over the year, 10 states experienced statistically significant changes
in employment with only 2 of those being increases. The statistically
significant job gains occurred in Texas (+230,400) and Wyoming (+9,500).
The largest statistically significant over-the-year decreases occurred in
Florida (-156,200), California (-101,300), Michigan (-71,200), Arizona
(-70,400), and Georgia (-61,100). (See table E.)
______________________________
The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment release for October
is scheduled to be issued on Tuesday, December 2. The Regional and State
Employment and Unemployment release for November is scheduled to be issued
on Friday, December 19.
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| |
| Hurricane Katrina |
| |
| For October BLS and its state partners continued to make modifica- |
|tions to the usual estimation procedures for the LAUS program to reflect |
|the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the labor force statistics in affected|
|areas. These modifications included: (1) modifying the state population|
|controls to account for displacement due to Katrina; (2) developing labor|
|force estimates for the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area |
|using an alternative to the model-based method; and (3) not publishing |
|labor force estimates for the months immediately following the hurricane |
|for the parishes within the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner metropolitan area|
|and cities within those parishes, where the quality of input data was |
|severely compromised by the hurricane. |
| |
| For more information on LAUS procedures and estimates for October |
|2008, see Hurricane Information: Katrina and Rita at http://www.bls. |
|gov/Katrina/home.htm or call (202) 691-6392. |
| |
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- 4 -
Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly differ-
ent from that of the U.S., October 2008, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
State | Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................| 6.5
|
Arkansas ............................| 5.4
California ..........................| 8.2
Colorado ............................| 5.7
Delaware ............................| 5.4
District of Columbia ................| 7.4
Florida .............................| 7.0
Hawaii ..............................| 4.5
Idaho ...............................| 5.3
Illinois ............................| 7.3
Iowa ................................| 4.4
|
Kansas ..............................| 4.9
Maine ...............................| 5.7
Maryland ............................| 5.0
Massachusetts .......................| 5.5
Michigan ............................| 9.3
Montana .............................| 4.8
Nebraska ............................| 3.6
Nevada ..............................| 7.6
New Hampshire .......................| 4.1
New Mexico ..........................| 4.4
|
New York ............................| 5.7
North Dakota ........................| 3.4
Ohio ................................| 7.3
Oklahoma ............................| 4.3
Oregon ..............................| 7.3
Pennsylvania ........................| 5.8
Rhode Island ........................| 9.3
South Carolina ......................| 8.0
South Dakota ........................| 3.3
Texas ...............................| 5.6
|
Utah ................................| 3.5
Vermont .............................| 5.2
Virginia ............................| 4.4
West Virginia .......................| 4.7
Wisconsin ...........................| 5.1
Wyoming .............................| 3.3
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 Data are not preliminary.
p = preliminary.
- 5 -
Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from September 2008 to October 2008, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-month
State | September | October | rate change(p)
| 2008 | 2008(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska .........................| 6.7 | 7.4 | 0.7
Arkansas .......................| 4.9 | 5.4 | .5
California .....................| 7.7 | 8.2 | .5
Colorado .......................| 5.2 | 5.7 | .5
Delaware .......................| 4.8 | 5.4 | .6
District of Columbia ...........| 7.0 | 7.4 | .4
Florida ........................| 6.6 | 7.0 | .4
Georgia ........................| 6.4 | 7.0 | .6
Idaho ..........................| 5.0 | 5.3 | .3
Iowa ...........................| 4.2 | 4.4 | .2
| | |
Maryland .......................| 4.6 | 5.0 | .4
Michigan .......................| 8.7 | 9.3 | .6
Nevada .........................| 7.2 | 7.6 | .4
New Mexico .....................| 4.0 | 4.4 | .4
Oklahoma .......................| 3.8 | 4.3 | .5
Oregon .........................| 6.4 | 7.3 | .9
Rhode Island ...................| 8.8 | 9.3 | .5
South Carolina .................| 7.3 | 8.0 | .7
Texas ..........................| 5.1 | 5.6 | .5
Washington .....................| 5.7 | 6.3 | .6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
- 6 -
Table C. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from October 2007 to October 2008, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------|-----------| Over-the-year
State | October | October | rate change(p)
| 2007 | 2008(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 3.5 | 5.6 | 2.1
Alaska .........................| 6.2 | 7.4 | 1.2
Arizona ........................| 3.9 | 6.1 | 2.2
California .....................| 5.7 | 8.2 | 2.5
Colorado .......................| 3.9 | 5.7 | 1.8
Connecticut ....................| 4.8 | 6.5 | 1.7
Delaware .......................| 3.5 | 5.4 | 1.9
District of Columbia ...........| 5.7 | 7.4 | 1.7
Florida ........................| 4.3 | 7.0 | 2.7
Georgia ........................| 4.5 | 7.0 | 2.5
| | |
Hawaii .........................| 2.8 | 4.5 | 1.7
Idaho ..........................| 2.7 | 5.3 | 2.6
Illinois .......................| 5.3 | 7.3 | 2.0
Indiana ........................| 4.5 | 6.4 | 1.9
Iowa ...........................| 3.8 | 4.4 | .6
Kansas .........................| 4.0 | 4.9 | .9
Kentucky .......................| 5.4 | 6.8 | 1.4
Louisiana ......................| 3.6 | 5.5 | 1.9
Maine ..........................| 4.9 | 5.7 | .8
Maryland .......................| 3.6 | 5.0 | 1.4
| | |
Massachusetts ..................| 4.3 | 5.5 | 1.2
Michigan .......................| 7.5 | 9.3 | 1.8
Minnesota ......................| 4.6 | 6.0 | 1.4
Mississippi ....................| 6.3 | 7.2 | .9
Missouri .......................| 5.4 | 6.5 | 1.1
Montana ........................| 3.2 | 4.8 | 1.6
Nebraska .......................| 3.1 | 3.6 | .5
Nevada .........................| 5.1 | 7.6 | 2.5
New Hampshire ..................| 3.3 | 4.1 | .8
New Jersey .....................| 4.2 | 6.0 | 1.8
| | |
New Mexico .....................| 3.3 | 4.4 | 1.1
New York .......................| 4.6 | 5.7 | 1.1
North Carolina .................| 4.7 | 7.0 | 2.3
Ohio ...........................| 5.7 | 7.3 | 1.6
Oregon .........................| 5.4 | 7.3 | 1.9
Pennsylvania ...................| 4.4 | 5.8 | 1.4
Rhode Island ...................| 5.1 | 9.3 | 4.2
South Carolina .................| 6.0 | 8.0 | 2.0
South Dakota ...................| 2.9 | 3.3 | .4
Tennessee ......................| 5.0 | 7.0 | 2.0
| | |
Texas ..........................| 4.3 | 5.6 | 1.3
Utah ...........................| 2.8 | 3.5 | .7
Vermont ........................| 3.9 | 5.2 | 1.3
Virginia .......................| 3.2 | 4.4 | 1.2
Washington .....................| 4.6 | 6.3 | 1.7
Wisconsin ......................| 4.8 | 5.1 | .3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
- 7 -
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from
September 2008 to October 2008, seasonally adjusted
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| September | October | Over-the-month
State | 2008 | 2008(p) | change(p)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona....................| 2,611,300 | 2,593,600 | -17,700
Colorado...................| 2,366,200 | 2,355,600 | -10,600
Florida....................| 7,903,100 | 7,875,800 | -27,300
Michigan...................| 4,173,200 | 4,153,600 | -19,600
Mississippi................| 1,145,500 | 1,138,600 | -6,900
Oregon.....................| 1,725,000 | 1,710,900 | -14,100
Washington.................| 2,958,300 | 2,929,000 | -29,300
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
Table E. States with statistically significant employment changes from
October 2007 to October 2008, seasonally adjusted
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| October | October | Over-the-year
State | 2007 | 2008(p) | change(p)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona....................| 2,664,000 | 2,593,600 | -70,400
California.................| 15,168,000 | 15,066,700 | -101,300
Florida....................| 8,032,000 | 7,875,800 | -156,200
Georgia....................| 4,153,500 | 4,092,400 | -61,100
Idaho......................| 657,900 | 646,400 | -11,500
Michigan...................| 4,224,800 | 4,153,600 | -71,200
Oregon.....................| 1,735,100 | 1,710,900 | -24,200
Rhode Island...............| 490,500 | 476,000 | -14,500
Texas......................| 10,435,500 | 10,665,900 | 230,400
Wyoming....................| 290,600 | 300,100 | 9,500
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
p = preliminary.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
