Pennsylvania construction employees on payroll increase in January, 2015. Employees on payroll increase from previous month in December, 2014 and from the same time last year in January, 2014.

Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and selected industry sector, seasonally adjusted.

REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- JANUARY 2015

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in January. Twenty-four states

had unemployment rate decreases from December, 8 states had increases, and 18 states and

the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

today. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases

from a year earlier, three states had increases, and two states had no change. The

national jobless rate was little changed from December at 5.7 percent but was 0.9

percentage point lower than in January 2014.

In January 2015, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 39 states, decreased in 10

states and the District of Columbia, and was unchanged in North Carolina. The largest

over-the-month increases in employment occurred in California (+67,300), Ohio (+25,100),

and Michigan (+24,200). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in

Virginia (-10,900), followed by Minnesota (-7,900) and Louisiana (-7,500). The largest

over-the-month percentage increase in employment occurred in Idaho (+1.4 percent),

followed by Hawaii (+0.9 percent) and Utah (+0.7 percent). The largest over-the-month

percentage decline in employment occurred in Maine (-0.6 percent), followed by Louisiana

and New Hampshire (-0.4 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in

49 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in Maine (-0.1 percent). The

largest over-the-year percentage increase occurred in North Dakota (+4.3 percent),

followed by Utah (+4.0 percent) and Florida and Nevada (+3.6 percent each).

Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

In January, the Midwest had the lowest regional unemployment rate, 5.2 percent,

while the West had the highest rate, 6.3 percent. Over the month, only the South

had a statistically significant unemployment rate change (-0.1 percentage point).

Significant over-the-year rate decreases occurred in all four regions: the Midwest

(-1.4 percentage points), Northeast (-1.1 points), West (-1.0 point), and South

(-0.9 point). (See table 1.)

Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest unemployment

rate, 4.2 percent in January. The Pacific had the highest rate, 6.7 percent. Over the

month, no division had a statistically significant change in its jobless rate. All nine

divisions had significant rate declines from a year earlier, with the largest of these

decreases occurring in the East North Central (-1.6 percentage points). The next largest

over-the-year unemployment rate decreases were in the Middle Atlantic, Mountain, and

New England divisions (-1.1 percentage points each).

State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

North Dakota had the lowest jobless rate in January, 2.8 percent. Mississippi and Nevada

had the highest unemployment rates among the states, 7.1 percent each. The District

of Columbia had a rate of 7.7 percent. In total, 21 states had unemployment rates

significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 5.7 percent, 10 states and the District of

Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 19 states had rates that were not appreciably

different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)

In January, nine states had statistically significant over-the-month unemployment

rate changes, all of which were declines. Oregon had the largest rate decrease

(-0.4 percentage point), followed by Idaho, Maine, and Rhode Island (-0.3 point

each). The remaining 41 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that

were not measurably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes

that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)

Forty-two states had statistically significant unemployment rate declines from

January 2014, the largest of which occurred in Illinois and Rhode Island (-2.1

percentage points each). The only significant over-the-year rate increases

occurred in Louisiana (+1.5 percentage points) and South Carolina (+0.3 point).

The remaining six states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not

appreciably different from those of a year earlier. (See table C.)

Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

In January 2015, 18 states had statistically significant over-the-month changes in

employment, 15 of which were increases. The largest significant job gains occurred

in California (+67,300), Ohio (+25,100), and Michigan (+24,200). The three significant

decreases occurred in Virginia (-10,900), Louisiana (-7,500), and Maine (-3,400).

(See tables D and 5.)

Over the year, 38 states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant

changes in employment, all of which were positive. The largest significant over-

the-year job increase occurred in California (+498,000), followed by Texas (+392,900)

and Florida (+274,100). (See table E.)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics