by Calculated Risk on 10/21/2014 01:31:00 PM
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
BLS: Thirty-one States had Unemployment Rate Decreases in September
From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary
Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in September. Thirty-one states had unemployment rate decreases from August, 8 states had increases, and 11 states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
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Georgia had the highest unemployment rate among the states in September, 7.9 percent. North Dakota again had the lowest jobless rate, 2.8 percent.
This graph shows the current unemployment rate for each state (red), and the max during the recession (blue). All states are well below the maximum unemployment rate for the recession.
The size of the blue bar indicates the amount of improvement.
The states are ranked by the highest current unemployment rate. Georgia had the highest unemployment rate in September at 7.9%.
Currently no state has an unemployment rate at or above 8% (light blue); Nine states are still at or above 7% (dark blue).