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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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Unemployment Rate Dropped in Nine States in June

The unemployment rate edged down in nine states in June, rose in three and was stable in the remaining 38, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

(CN) - The unemployment rate edged down in nine states in June, rose in three and was stable in the remaining 38, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Overall, the national unemployment rate rose by 0.2 percent from May to 4.0 percent but was 0.3 point lower than

in June 2017.

The bureau reports Hawaii had the lowest unemployment rate in June, coming in at 2.1 percent, while Alaska had the nation's highest unemployment rate at 7.1 percent.

Of the nine states that saw unemployment rate decreases, the largest drops were in New Mexico, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, all of which saw a decline of 0.2 percent.

Three states -- Ohio, Louisiana and Maine -- saw an increase in their unemployment rate from May, with Ohio seeing a 0.2 percent increase and Louisiana and Maine edging up 0.1 percent.

The remaining 38 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier.

Viewed from a year-over-year perspective, 10 states saw their unemployment rate decline as compared to June 2017, while 40 states and the District of Columbia saw their jobless rate stay relatively unchanged.

The largest rate decline from June 2017, was in New Mexico, which saw its unemployment rate decrease 1.2 percent, followed y Kentucky which saw a decline of 0.9 percent.

Sixteen states had unemployment rates lower that the U.S. figure of 4.0 percent, while six states and the District of Columbia had higher rates.

The bureau also reported that five states had over-the-moth increases in nonfarm payroll employment in June 2018.

Nonfarm payroll employment is a compiled name for goods, construction and manufacturing companies in the US. It does not include farm workers, private household employees, or non-profit organization employees.

The largest increases occurred in Massachusetts (+21,400), Illinois (+18,100), and Georgia (+14,200).

In percentage terms, the largest increase occurred in Massachusetts (+0.6 percent), followed by Tennessee (+0.4 percent) and Georgia, Illinois, and North Carolina (+0.3 percent each). West Virginia lost jobs over the month (-8,000, or -1.1 percent).

Thirty-two states had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment in June. The largest job gains occurred in Texas (+359,500), California (+269,100), and Florida (+170,500). The largest percentage gains occurred in Idaho and Utah (+3.0 percent each), followed by Texas (+2.9 percent).

Categories / Economy, Employment, National

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