The US states with the highest unemployment rates

Despite the challenges the US economy is facing this year, following the turmoil around the debt ceiling deal, the high interest rates, and the sudden collapse of high-profile regional banks, the country’s labor market has remained relatively stable. Compared to the same time last year, the average unemployment rate has gone up by just 0.1 per cent – 3.7% up from 3.6%.

However, a closer look at the latest Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while some states are performing really well others are really struggling. For example in May 2022 California and Texas were occupying the 15th and 16th spots with 3.66% and 3.64% Unemployment Rate respectively. A year later these rates jumped to 4.48% and 4.10% respectively and California and Texas are currently at the #2 and #3 spots.

These considerable swings spurred the team at TradingPedia to further analyze the matter. The current report highlights the five states with the highest rates of unemployment. It also includes data on the five states with the lowest rates and the one which has achieved the strongest progress since May 2022.

Rk 2023	State	Rk 2022	Population 2022	Population 2023	Groth Rate	Civilian labor force May 2022	Civilian labor force May 2023	Unemployed May 2022	Unemployment Percentage May 2022	Unemployed May 2023	Unemployment Percentage May 2023
1	Nevada	1	3,209,142	3,177,772	0.99%	1,547,500	1,586,849	81,089	5.24%	83,602	5.27%
2	California	15	38,915,693	39,029,342	-0.29%	19,196,922	19,307,961	701,685	3.66%	864,609	4.48%
3	Texas	16	30,500,280	30,029,572	1.57%	14,616,414	14,968,635	531,312	3.64%	613,801	4.10%
4	Delaware	6	1,031,985	1,018,396	1.33%	494,975	502,102	20,177	4.08%	19,698	3.92%
5	Louisiana	20	4,553,384	4,590,241	-0.80%	2,087,581	2,106,815	72,898	3.49%	82,195	3.90%
6	New Jersey	19	9,255,437	9,261,699	-0.07%	4,719,435	4,850,755	166,718	3.53%	186,937	3.85%
7	Kentucky	10	4,518,031	4,512,310	0.13%	2,053,884	2,062,436	78,429	3.82%	79,345	3.85%
8	New York	7	19,496,810	19,677,151	-0.92%	9,611,179	9,723,029	379,712	3.95%	372,547	3.83%
9	Michigan	4	10,030,722	10,034,113	-0.03%	4,853,063	4,970,486	200,435	4.13%	186,699	3.76%
10	Alaska	8	732,984	733,583	-0.08%	358,446	357,670	14,063	3.92%	13,328	3.73%
11	Connecticut	3	3,629,055	3,626,205	0.08%	1,944,890	1,886,359	80,875	4.16%	69,474	3.68%
12	Arizona	13	7,453,517	7,359,197	1.28%	3,603,906	3,686,820	133,129	3.69%	134,276	3.64%
13	Illinois	2	12,477,595	12,582,032	-0.83%	6,455,149	6,378,771	281,171	4.36%	231,418	3.63%
14	Indiana	35	6,852,542	6,833,037	0.29%	3,405,791	3,421,867	95,120	2.79%	121,060	3.54%
15	Pennsylvania	5	12,931,957	12,972,008	-0.31%	6,504,345	6,493,270	266,285	4.09%	229,662	3.54%
16	Georgia	31	11,037,723	10,912,876	1.14%	5,228,331	5,299,480	149,025	2.85%	181,756	3.43%
17	North Carolina	18	10,832,061	10,698,973	1.24%	5,178,101	5,249,919	184,479	3.56%	179,804	3.42%
18	West Virginia	21	1,764,786	1,775,156	-0.58%	788,108	784,480	27,388	3.48%	26,708	3.40%
19	Ohio	14	11,747,774	11,756,058	-0.07%	5,762,614	5,850,786	211,387	3.67%	197,922	3.38%
20	New Mexico	9	2,110,011	2,113,344	-0.16%	943,758	952,661	36,656	3.88%	32,038	3.36%
21	Washington	11	7,830,827	7,785,786	0.58%	3,967,534	4,048,898	149,185	3.76%	134,024	3.31%
22	Tennessee	26	7,134,327	7,051,339	1.18%	3,375,814	3,370,833	106,909	3.17%	109,428	3.25%
23	Oregon	23	4,223,973	4,240,137	-0.38%	2,157,494	2,126,788	72,603	3.37%	68,105	3.20%
24	Mississippi	12	2,930,528	2,940,057	-0.32%	1,258,261	1,242,868	47,145	3.75%	37,388	3.01%
25	Minnesota	46	5,722,897	5,717,184	0.10%	3,076,643	3,119,942	66,382	2.16%	91,700	2.94%
26	Missouri	42	6,186,091	6,177,957	0.13%	3,069,864	3,139,913	69,447	2.26%	90,820	2.89%
27	Oklahoma	28	4,048,375	4,019,800	0.71%	1,890,935	1,928,641	55,869	2.95%	55,196	2.86%
28	South Carolina	29	5,372,002	5,282,634	1.69%	2,383,773	2,446,950	70,355	2.95%	68,736	2.81%
29	Colorado	36	5,868,555	5,839,926	0.49%	3,186,795	3,236,746	86,830	2.72%	90,877	2.81%
30	Rhode Island	32	1,090,483	1,093,734	-0.30%	569,184	569,568	16,142	2.84%	15,817	2.78%
31	Wyoming	22	583,279	581,381	0.33%	290,111	297,071	9,911	3.42%	8,108	2.73%
32	Idaho	40	1,973,752	1,939,033	1.79%	950,770	965,118	22,303	2.35%	26,004	2.69%
33	Kansas	38	2,936,378	2,937,150	-0.03%	1,500,797	1,518,343	36,614	2.44%	40,894	2.69%
34	Florida	37	22,661,577	22,244,823	1.87%	10,741,092	11,021,589	292,321	2.72%	296,052	2.69%
35	Wisconsin	33	5,904,977	5,892,539	0.21%	3,074,106	3,119,249	86,428	2.81%	83,578	2.68%
36	Virginia	30	8,709,873	8,683,619	0.30%	4,436,434	4,607,280	127,927	2.88%	123,312	2.68%
37	Hawaii	24	1,433,238	1,440,196	-0.48%	673,796	671,927	21,733	3.23%	17,744	2.64%
38	Iowa	41	3,203,345	3,200,517	0.09%	1,707,944	1,737,711	39,033	2.29%	45,806	2.64%
39	Maine	34	1,393,442	1,385,340	0.58%	673,215	678,412	18,923	2.81%	17,653	2.60%
40	Arkansas	25	3,063,152	3,045,637	0.57%	1,371,738	1,384,271	43,450	3.17%	34,372	2.48%
41	Utah	43	3,422,487	3,380,800	1.23%	1,737,045	1,812,321	38,517	2.22%	44,671	2.46%
42	Montana	39	1,139,507	1,122,867	1.48%	567,905	579,106	13,415	2.36%	13,839	2.39%
43	Massachusetts	17	6,974,258	6,981,974	-0.11%	3,726,911	3,682,046	134,145	3.60%	84,244	2.29%
44	Maryland	27	6,154,710	6,164,660	-0.16%	3,157,874	3,191,400	97,863	3.10%	70,018	2.19%
45	Alabama	45	5,098,746	5,074,296	0.48%	2,286,230	2,307,803	50,476	2.21%	49,384	2.14%
46	Nebraska	48	1,972,292	1,967,923	0.22%	1,062,770	1,065,527	22,263	2.09%	21,970	2.06%
47	North Dakota	50	780,588	779,261	0.17%	415,619	421,229	7,185	1.73%	7,980	1.89%
48	South Dakota	49	923,484	909,824	1.50%	477,236	484,604	8,977	1.88%	9,034	1.86%
49	Vermont	44	647,156	647,064	0.01%	340,106	341,510	7,532	2.21%	5,707	1.67%
50	New Hampshire	47	1,402,957	1,395,231	0.55%	760,641	752,116	15,970	2.10%	11,453	1.52%

Methodology

We analysed information provided by the following official data sources:

Employment and unemployment figures are based on the official place of residence of the citizens, and this analysis includes the civilian non-institutional population aged 16 and older. The civilian labor force is equal to the sum of the numbers of employed and unemployed persons. The unemployment rate presents the unemployed population as a percentage of the civilian labor force.

Nevada is a Workforce Paradox

At state level, Nevada tops the ranking as the state with the highest unemployment rate both in May 2022 and May 2023. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state’s unemployment rate has not seen any significant change compared to the same period last year – 5.24% vs 5.27%. Given the announcement of reaching the target of 1.5 million U.S jobs in March 2023, which lead to a record-high increase in employment, this is somewhat surprising. The explanation lies in another key indicator; labor force participation rate (the labor force as a percentage of the civilian non-institutional population) which has jumped from 61.2% to 61.8% since May 2022.

The state with the second highest unemployment rate, California, is a totally different case. This is the state with the highest unemployment rate increase compared to the same time last year – 4.48% up from 3.66%. The recent rise in seasonally adjusted jobs has had little effect on the overall level, mainly due to the continued layoffs in technology and other industry sectors.

The third position on the current list is held by Texas, with the employment situation nearly the same as in California. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the state has crossed the 15 million threshold in terms of the seasonally adjusted labor force. However, its overall unemployment range has moved up to 4.1% from 3.64% in May 2022.

Although Delaware is one of the 5 states with the highest unemployment rate as of May 2023, it is seeing a positive trend. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state’s unemployment rate has decreased from 4.08% to 3.92% during the study period. A check with the Delaware Department of Labor shows that the largest number of people are employed in the Education & Health Services industry (16.5%), followed by Government (14.2%), and Retail Trade (10.4%).

While not showing as large a percentage difference as California, Louisiana has also seen a significant increase in its unemployed population. In May 2022, the state was in the 20th position with 3.49% but climbed to the 5th place in May 2023, with 3.90% of its civilian labor force being jobless. The labor force participation rate plays a part here, increasing from 58.6% to 59.3% within the study period.

States with the Lowest Unemployment Rates

Five states are on the opposite side of the labor market spectrum – Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Not only did they have the lowest unemployment rates in May 2023 (2.06%, 1.89%, 1.86%, 1.67%, and 1.52%) but they were among the best-performing states a year ago, too.

As impressive as these figures are, the progress achieved by Massachusetts since May 2022 surpasses all others. A year ago, it was the 17th most jobless state with an unemployment rate of 3.60%. At the time of the current study, Massachusetts holds the 43rd position with an unemployment percentage of 2.29%, the most positive change of all 50 states.