Unemployment rates were lower in March in 37 states and stable in 13 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
All 50 states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier.
By the U-3 chart, the national unemployment rate, 3.6 percent, declined by 0.2 percentage point over the month and was 2.4 points lower than in March 2021. The U-6 chart, or the more inclusive unemployment rate, has unemployment at 7.10 percent. The U-6 rate differs from the more commonly reported U-3 rate in that it also includes workers that are discouraged and underemployed.
Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 10 states and was essentially unchanged in 40 states and the District of Columbia in March 2022. Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 49 states and the District and was essentially unchanged in one state.
Nebraska and Utah had the lowest jobless rates in March, 2.0 percent each.
The next lowest rates were in Indiana, 2.2 percent, and Montana, 2.3 percent.
The rates in these four states set new series lows, as did the rates in the following eight states (all state series begin in 1976): Alaska (5.0 percent),Arizona (3.3 percent), Georgia (3.1 percent), Idaho (2.7 percent), Mississippi(4.2 percent), Tennessee (3.2 percent), West Virginia (3.7 percent), and Wisconsin (2.8 percent).
The District of Columbia had the highest unemployment rate, 6.0 percent, followed by New Mexico, 5.3 percent.