State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Vermont reported the lowest unemployment rate in October, 3.1 percent, while nine other states also recorded rates below 4.0 percent. Among them was Nevada, which, at 3.6 percent, recorded a series low. (Virtually all regional and state series begin in 1978.) Alaska and Oregon again posted the highest state jobless rates, 7.2 percent each. The District of Columbia had an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. Five additional states registered rates of 6.0 percent or more in October.From September, unemployment rates declined in 23 states, increased in 17 states and the District of Columbia, and were unchanged in 10 states. Rhode Island recorded the largest over-the-month unemployment rate decrease (-0.5 percentage point). No state had a jobless rate increase greater than 0.3 percentage point; the District of Columbia's rate rose by 0.5 point in October.
Unemployment rates were lower than a year earlier in 42 states, higher in 7 states and the District of Columbia, and unchanged in 1 state. Washington again registered the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease (-1.9 percentage points), followed by North Carolina and Vermont (-1.6 points each) and Nevada (-1.5 points). Eleven additional states recorded rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more from last October, and another 20 states reported decreases of one-half point or more. No state posted an unemployment rate increase from October 2003 of more than 0.3 percentage point. The District of Columbia had a rate increase of 1.4 percentage points over the year.
Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
From September to October, total nonfarm employment increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 18 states, and remained unchanged in 1 state. The largest employment increases occurred in California (+43,500), Florida (+27,900), Texas (+23,600), Michigan (+14,800), and New York (+12,400). Nevada reported the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+0.8 percent), followed by Florida, Nebraska, and Washington (+0.4 percent each), and Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, and South Carolina (+0.3 percent each). The largest employment decreases occurred in Ohio (-6,600), Oklahoma (-5,800), Indiana (-5,600), West Virginia (-4,600), and Montana (-4,400). The largest over-the-month percentage decreases in employment were reported in Montana (-1.1 percent), West Virginia (-0.6 percent), Oklahoma and South Dakota (-0.4 percent each), and Arkansas (-0.3 per- cent).Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 47 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 3 states. The largest over-the-year gains in employment occurred in Florida (+144,700), California (+126,600), Texas (+121,000), Virginia (+80,200), and New Jersey (+67,700). The largest percentage gains were reported in Nevada (+4.9 percent), Idaho (+3.5 percent), Utah (+3.1 percent), Hawaii (+3.0 percent), and Arizona (+2.5 percent). The over-the-year employment decreases were registered in Michigan (-31,900, -0.7 percent), Ohio (-13,700, -0.3 percent), and Louisiana (-3,000, -0.2 percent).
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