February’s jobs report showed an above-average level of hiring. The economy gained 275,000 nonfarm payroll jobs, exceeding the average monthly gain of 230,000 over the past 12 months. In February, there were notable gains in sectors including health care, government, food services and drinking places, social assistance, and transportation and warehousing, and the overall unemployment rate was 3.9%.
In order to take stock of how unemployment rates are changing throughout the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on six key metrics that compare unemployment rate statistics from the latest month for which data is available (February 2024) to key dates in 2024, 2023, 2020 and 2019.
Main Findings
Unemployment Rate Changes by State
Overall Rank | State | Unemployment Rate (February 2024) | Change in Unemployment (February 2024 vs January 2024) | Change in Unemployment (February 2024 vs February 2023) | Change in Unemployment (February 2024 vs February 2020) | Change in Unemployment (February 2024 vs February 2019) | Not Seasonally Adjusted Continued Claims (February 2024 vs January 2024) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | North Dakota | 2.0% | 1.7% | -7.8% | -9.8% | -15.8% | 4.0% |
2 | Mississippi | 3.1% | -3.0% | -18.4% | -48.4% | -44.5% | -3.6% |
3 | Maryland | 2.4% | 4.7% | -17.4% | -35.0% | -35.0% | 5.1% |
4 | Vermont | 2.3% | -0.1% | -17.8% | 3.9% | 3.2% | -6.6% |
5 | South Dakota | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2.0% | -14.3% | -23.0% | 8.3% |
6 | Kansas | 2.7% | 2.3% | -9.4% | -18.7% | -20.3% | -17.7% |
7 | Wyoming | 2.8% | -0.2% | -24.8% | -39.7% | -20.2% | 1.6% |
8 | Nebraska | 2.5% | 0.7% | 7.4% | -16.5% | -17.7% | -9.2% |
9 | Minnesota | 2.7% | 1.6% | -7.5% | -23.6% | -16.8% | 0.7% |
10 | Massachusetts | 2.9% | -3.7% | -19.8% | 3.2% | -10.4% | 3.8% |
11 | Tennessee | 3.3% | -3.8% | -3.4% | -2.9% | -1.4% | -22.3% |
12 | New Hampshire | 2.6% | 1.1% | -3.6% | -1.4% | -0.2% | 3.9% |
13 | Pennsylvania | 3.4% | -0.2% | -22.3% | -28.7% | -23.2% | -0.1% |
14 | Georgia | 3.1% | -1.9% | 0.4% | -13.0% | -15.8% | -0.9% |
15 | Wisconsin | 3.0% | -4.8% | 15.2% | 3.3% | 0.7% | -3.0% |
16 | Iowa | 2.9% | -1.8% | 0.1% | 11.0% | 11.7% | 5.3% |
17 | Alabama | 3.0% | 3.8% | 23.0% | -6.9% | -15.0% | -8.2% |
18 | Hawaii | 3.1% | 1.4% | -12.4% | 40.4% | 12.6% | -14.3% |
19 | South Carolina | 3.1% | 1.5% | 0.5% | 12.0% | 3.4% | -3.1% |
20 | Virginia | 3.0% | -0.1% | -4.2% | 7.1% | 3.0% | 12.4% |
21 | Ohio | 3.7% | 1.1% | -4.2% | -20.7% | -13.3% | -5.3% |
22 | Utah | 2.8% | 1.6% | 20.8% | 26.3% | 16.8% | -2.0% |
23 | North Carolina | 3.5% | -0.7% | -1.9% | -3.3% | -5.0% | 4.8% |
24 | Florida | 3.1% | 1.5% | 21.4% | 12.0% | -1.8% | 4.0% |
25 | Missouri | 3.3% | 1.4% | 29.3% | -1.1% | 3.0% | -6.0% |
26 | Indiana | 3.5% | 0.5% | 11.2% | 2.6% | 0.5% | -2.3% |
27 | New Mexico | 3.9% | -1.0% | 10.8% | -24.5% | -21.3% | 1.3% |
28 | Arkansas | 3.6% | -2.7% | 13.2% | 2.9% | 1.7% | 6.4% |
29 | Montana | 3.4% | 0.4% | 40.8% | 0.5% | 0.6% | -0.7% |
30 | Michigan | 3.9% | -1.7% | -4.2% | 6.0% | -4.6% | 5.0% |
31 | Maine | 3.4% | -0.2% | 25.7% | 6.0% | 13.5% | 7.4% |
32 | Arizona | 4.1% | -2.1% | 12.5% | -9.7% | -10.3% | 1.6% |
33 | Delaware | 4.0% | -1.8% | -10.3% | 15.5% | 18.4% | -1.8% |
34 | Idaho | 3.3% | 0.4% | 28.9% | 29.0% | 25.2% | 1.6% |
35 | Oklahoma | 3.6% | 1.3% | 23.3% | 22.5% | 21.6% | -3.4% |
36 | Texas | 3.9% | 1.0% | 0.6% | 18.1% | 17.2% | -2.0% |
37 | Colorado | 3.5% | 3.8% | 23.4% | 15.5% | 29.1% | -3.1% |
38 | West Virginia | 4.3% | 0.1% | 18.2% | -19.1% | -13.0% | -2.7% |
39 | Louisiana | 4.2% | 3.4% | 16.0% | -10.3% | -8.6% | -8.2% |
40 | Oregon | 4.2% | 3.3% | -11.5% | 22.1% | 6.7% | -3.0% |
41 | New York | 4.4% | -2.0% | 7.2% | 5.8% | 11.8% | 2.7% |
42 | Alaska | 4.7% | 1.6% | 22.8% | -13.1% | -19.3% | -8.6% |
43 | Rhode Island | 3.9% | 8.5% | 30.8% | 8.0% | 8.7% | 3.2% |
44 | Kentucky | 4.4% | 1.5% | 10.9% | 3.7% | 3.4% | 14.8% |
45 | Washington | 4.7% | 3.9% | 2.9% | 25.7% | 5.5% | -4.2% |
46 | District of Columbia | 5.1% | 2.3% | 14.5% | -8.4% | -11.8% | -4.4% |
47 | Illinois | 4.8% | 1.1% | 6.6% | 23.3% | 4.1% | 2.6% |
48 | Connecticut | 4.5% | 3.8% | 13.7% | 15.2% | 23.4% | 4.1% |
49 | Nevada | 5.2% | -1.2% | -3.8% | 22.3% | 28.9% | 3.7% |
50 | New Jersey | 4.8% | -0.4% | 37.1% | 20.3% | 46.1% | 6.4% |
51 | California | 5.3% | 1.3% | 22.0% | 19.3% | 24.0% | 8.6% |
- Biggest Decrease
- 1. Wisconsin
- 2. Tennessee
- 3. Massachusetts
- 4. Mississippi
- 5. Arkansas
- Smallest Decrease
- 47. Colorado
- 48. Connecticut
- 49. Washington
- 50. Maryland
- 51. Rhode Island
- Biggest Decrease
- 1. Wyoming
- 2. Pennsylvania
- 3. Massachusetts
- 4. Mississippi
- 5. Vermont
- Smallest Decrease
- 47. Idaho
- 48. Missouri
- 49. Rhode Island
- 50. New Jersey
- 51. Montana
- Biggest Decrease
- 1. Mississippi
- 2. Wyoming
- 3. Maryland
- 4. Pennsylvania
- 5. New Mexico
- Smallest Decrease
- 47. Illinois
- 48. Washington
- 49. Utah
- 50. Idaho
- 51. Hawaii
- Biggest Decrease
- 1. Mississippi
- 2. Maryland
- 3. Pennsylvania
- 4. South Dakota
- 5. New Mexico
- Smallest Decrease
- 47. California
- 48. Idaho
- 49. Nevada
- 50. Colorado
- 51. New Jersey
- Lowest Rate
- 1. North Dakota
- 2. South Dakota
- 3. Vermont
- 4. Maryland
- 5. Nebraska
- Highest Rate
- T-47. Illinois
- T-47. New Jersey
- 49. District of Columbia
- 50. Nevada
- 51. California
Ask the Experts
In order to provide further insight into the current unemployment situation in the U.S., WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. Click on the pictures of experts below to read their bios and responses to the following key questions:
- What are the best ways for state and local authorities to ensure a healthy recovery from the high inflation that has been experienced recently?
- What are the most resilient industries and fields during the current crisis?
- What job skills do you think will be the most sought after in the current job market?
- What’s in store for the job market in 2024?
Ask the Experts
Methodology
In order to examine changes in unemployment rates throughout the U.S., WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across two categories. In the first category, we compared the change in unemployment for the latest month for which we had data (February 2024) to January 2024, February 2023, February 2020 and February 2019, in order to show the impact since the beginning of the pandemic and the recent changes in the job market amid high inflation. We also compared not seasonally adjusted continued claims in February 2024 to January 2024. In the second category, we looked at the state’s overall unemployment rate. We then used the average of those categories to rank-order the states.
Change in Unemployment - Total Points: 50
- Change in Unemployment in February 2024 vs. January 2024: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)
- Change in Unemployment in February 2024 vs. February 2023: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)
- Change in Unemployment in February 2024 vs. February 2020: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)
- Change in Unemployment in February 2024 vs. February 2019: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)
- Not Seasonally Adjusted Continued Claims in February 2024 vs. January 2024: Full Weight (~10.00 Points)
Unemployment Rate - Total Points: 50
- Unemployment Rate (February 2024): Full Weight (~50.00 Points)
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Department of Labor.
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