by Calculated Risk on 10/20/2015 10:43:00 AM

From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in September. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from August, six states had increases, and seven states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
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North Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in September, 2.8 percent, followed by Nebraska, 2.9 percent. West Virginia had the highest rate, 7.3 percent.

Click on graph for larger image.

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 yellow squares are the lowest unemployment rate per state since 1976.

The states are ranked by the highest current unemployment rate. West Virginia, at 7.3%, had the highest state unemployment rate.

The second graph shows the number of states (and D.C.) with unemployment rates at or above certain levels since January 2006. At the worst of the employment recession, there were 10 states with an unemployment rate at or above 11% (red).

Currently no state has an unemployment rate at or above 8% (purple); Only one state (West Virginia) was at or above 7% (light blue), and ten states are at or above 6% (dark blue).