Unemployment rates were lower in February in 31 states and the District of Columbia and stable in 19 states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
All 50 states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier. The national unemployment rate, 3.8 percent, edged down by 0.2 percentage point over the month and was 2.4 points lower than in February 2021.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 27 states and was essentially unchanged in 23 states and the District of Columbia in February 2022. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 48 states and the District and was essentially unchanged in two states.
This data represents information from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of households. These data pertain to individuals by where they reside. The employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by where the establishments are located.
Nebraska and Utah had the lowest jobless rates in
February, 2.1 percent each.
The next lowest rates were in Indiana, 2.3 percent, and Kansas, 2.5 percent. The rates in these four states set new series lows, as did the rates in the following five states (all state series begin in 1976): Arkansas (3.1 percent), Mississippi (4.5 percent), Montana (2.6 percent), Oklahoma (2.6 percent), and West Virginia (3.9 percent).
The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 6.1 percent, followed by New Mexico, 5.6 percent, and Alaska and California, 5.4 percent each. In total, 18 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.8 percent, 13 states and the District had higher rates, and 19 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
In February, 31 states and the District of Columbia had over-the-month unemployment rate decreases, the largest of which was in New Jersey (-0.5 percentage point). Connecticut, Maryland, and New York had the next largest rate decreases (-0.4 percentage point each).
Nineteen states had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
The largest unemployment rate decrease from February 2021 occurred in Nevada (-4.7 percentage points). Another three states experienced decreases of 3.0 percentage points or more. The smallest over-the-year jobless rate decline occurred in Kentucky (-0.5 percentage point).
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 27 states and was essentially unchanged in 23 states and the District of Columbia in February 2022. The largest job gains occurred in California (+138,100), Texas (+77,800), and Florida (+51,000). The largest percentage increase occurred in Nebraska (+1.2 percent), followed by Washington and Wyoming (+0.9 percent each).