March 25, 2022
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates fell in 31 states and the District of Columbia in February and were unchanged in 19 states. Fifty states and the District had lower unemployment rates than a year ago. The national unemployment rate, 3.8%, fell by 0.2 percentage point in a month and was 2.4 percentage point lower than in February 2021.
In February 2022, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 27 states and remained virtually unchanged in the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia. Over the year, 48 states and the District of Columbia added nonfarm payroll jobs, while two states remained virtually unchanged.
Unemployment
In February, Nebraska and Utah had the lowest unemployment rate at 2.1%, followed by Indiana 2.3% and Kansa 2.5%. Notably “The rates in these four states set new series lows, as did the rates in the following five states (all state series begin in 1976): Arkansas (3.1%), Mississippi (4.5%), Montana (2.6%), Oklahoma (2.6%), and West Virginia (3.9%).” The highest unemployment rates were in California at 6.1%, followed by New Mexico at 5.6%. In total, 13 states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rates higher than the national average of 3.8%, 18 had lower rates, and 19 had rates that were not significantly different from the national rate.
New Jersey saw the highest month-to-month decline in the unemployment rate in February (-0.5 percentage points). Connecticut, Maryland, and New York experienced the next-largest drop (-0.4 percentage point). Nineteen states had jobless rates that were not noticeably different from a month ago, though some had numerical changes that were as least as large as the notable changes.
Nevada had the greatest fall in unemployment from January 2022 (-4.7 percentage points). The smallest over-the-year jobless rate decline occurred in Kentucky (-0.5 percentage point). Another three states and saw a month over month decreases of at least 3.0 percentage points or more.
Nonfarm Payroll Employment
In February 2022, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 27 states and was unchanged in the remaining 23 states and the District of Columbia. California (+138,100), Texas (+77,800), and Florida (+51,000) saw the most job growth. While Nebraska at 1.2 percentage point saw the largest percentage increase, followed by Washington and Wyoming (+0.9% each).
Nonfarm payroll employment climbed in 48 states and the District of Columbia over the year and remained virtually constant in two states. California (+1,106,300), Texas (+832,200), and Florida (+530,200) saw the most job growth. Nevada (+9.7%), Hawaii (+7.5%), and California (+6.8%) saw the highest percentage gains.
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