Regional and State Unemployment, 2014 Annual Average Summary

REGIONAL AND STATE UNEMPLOYMENT -- 2014 ANNUAL AVERAGES

In 2014, annual average unemployment rates declined in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment-population ratios increased in 35 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 12 states, and were unchanged in 3 states. The U.S. jobless rate decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 6.2 percent in 2014, while the national employment-population ratio increased by 0.4 point to 59.0 percent.

Regional Unemployment

All four regions had annual average unemployment rate declines from 2013, with the Midwest and Northeast having the largest decreases (-1.4 percentage points each). The Midwest, at 5.8 percent, had the lowest regional unemployment rate in 2014, while the West, at 6.8 percent, had the highest rate. (See table 1.)

Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had the lowest annual average unemployment rate, 4.6 percent in 2014. The Pacific had the highest jobless rate, 7.2 percent. All nine divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate declines, the largest of which occurred in the East North Central (-1.7 percentage points) and Middle Atlantic (-1.5 points).

State Unemployment

Annual average unemployment rates decreased from 2013 to 2014 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This was the first year since 1984 in which all states and the District had over-the-year rate declines. The largest rate decline occurred in Illinois (-2.0 percentage points), followed by Colorado, North Carolina, and Ohio (-1.8 points each). Twenty additional states had over-the-year jobless rate decreases of at least 1.0 percentage point.

North Dakota had the lowest annual average unemployment rate (2.8 percent) in 2014. Nebraska (3.3 percent) and South Dakota (3.4 percent) had the next lowest jobless rates. Eleven additional states had annual average unemployment rates under 5.0 percent. Mississippi and Nevada had the highest jobless rates (7.8 percent each) among the states, followed by Rhode Island (7.7 percent). The District of Columbia also had a jobless rate of 7.8 percent.

Regional Employment-Population Ratios

In 2014, all four regions had over-the-year increases in their employment-population ratios--the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and older who are employed. The Midwest had the largest increase (+0.8 percentage point). The Midwest also had the highest employment-population ratio, 61.3 percent, while the South had the lowest, 57.9 percent. (See table 2.)

Eight of the 9 geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in their employment-population ratios, with the largest of these occurring in the East North Central (+1.0 percentage point). The East South Central had the only ratio decline over the year (-0.9 percentage point). The West North Central had the highest proportion of employed persons, 65.3 percent in 2014, while the East South Central had the lowest

proportion, 53.6 percent.

State Employment-Population Ratios

In 2014, Hawaii and Indiana had the largest over-the-year increases in their employment-population ratios (+1.4 percentage points each), followed by Louisiana (+1.2 points) and Connecticut (+1.1 points). Sixteen additional states had increases of at least 0.5 percentage point. Mississippi and Tennessee had the largest decreases in their employment-population ratios (-1.2 percentage points each). Four other states had

declines of at least 0.5 percentage point.

North Dakota had the highest proportion of employed persons, 70.8 percent in 2014. Four other states in the West North Central division had the next highest ratios: 

Nebraska, 68.9 percent; Iowa, 67.3 percent; Minnesota, 67.0 percent; and South Dakota,

66.9 percent. West Virginia had the lowest employment-population ratio among the states,

49.7 percent. West Virginia has had the lowest employment-population ratio each year

since the series began in 1976. Three states had the lowest employment-population

ratios in their series in 2014: Kentucky, 54.8 percent; Mississippi, 50.1 percent;

and New Mexico, 53.6 percent.

_____________

The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2015

is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, March 17, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2015

is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 20, 2015, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).

Regional and State Unemployment, 2014 Annual Average Technical Note

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 2013-14 annual averages

Table 2. Employment-population ratios of persons 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 2013-14 annual averages

HTML version of the entire news release

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics