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The national unemployment rate now stands at 8.9 percent, but this percentage masks wide variation from state to state.
- The unemployment rate is 10 percent or higher in eight states. Michigan tops the list at 12.6 percent. Regionally, however, the hardest hit area is the West: Oregon (12.1 percent), California (11.1), and Nevada (10.4).
- The Plains states – Nebraska, North and South Dakota – have the lowest unemployment rates, all under 5 percent.
- In absolute numbers, the number of employed persons has decreased the most in the following states since the recession began: California (608,000), Florida (396,000), Michigan (392,000), and Illinois (373,000). These four states account for a quarter of U.S. employment, but they account for nearly 40 percent of the total decrease since December 2007.
- The table below shows the unemployment rate and the change in the number of employed persons for each state. It actually understates overall job losses during this recession because the unemployment rate is a leading indicator heading into recessions. It started to increase six months before the current contraction began, and our table excludes those early losses. Unfortunately, heading into recoveries the unemployment rate behaves differently--it’s a lagging indicator. This means it is likely to continue to increase for some months after the current recession ends.
| Unemployment by State | | | Unemployment Ratet Rate | Change in Employment
Since Recession Began | | March 2009 | Dec. 2007 | | Alabama | 9.0 | 3.8 | -138,417 | | Alaska | 8.5 | 6.3 | -3,126 | | Arizona | 7.8 | 4.3 | -52,360 | | Arkansas | 6.5 | 4.9 | -26,905 | | California | 11.2 | 5.9 | -607,966 | | Colorado | 7.5 | 4.1 | -74,626 | | Connecticut | 7.5 | 4.9 | -26,354 | | Delaware | 7.7 | 3.8 | -21,716 | | D.C. | 9.8 | 5.8 | -14,958 | | Florida | 9.7 | 4.8 | -395,645 | | Georgia | 9.2 | 5.1 | -233,532 | | Hawaii | 7.1 | 3.1 | -29,527 | | Idaho | 7.0 | 3.6 | -27,596 | | Illinois | 9.1 | 5.6 | -373,147 | | Indiana | 10.0 | 4.5 | -174,734 | | Iowa | 5.2 | 3.8 | -20,202 | | Kansas | 6.1 | 4.1 | -10,634 | | Kentucky | 9.8 | 5.5 | -41,684 | | Louisiana | 5.8 | 3.9 | -22,081 | | Maine | 8.1 | 4.7 | -22,566 | | Maryland | 6.9 | 3.6 | -124,030 | | Massachusetts | 7.8 | 4.5 | -106,026 | | Michigan | 12.6 | 7.3 | -392,257 | | Minnesota | 8.2 | 4.8 | -61,209 | | Mississippi | 9.4 | 6.1 | -35,562 | | Missouri | 8.7 | 5.3 | -104,048 | | Montana | 6.1 | 3.8 | -15,430 | | Nebraska | 4.6 | 2.7 | -17,101 | | Nevada | 10.4 | 5.2 | -25,167 | | New Hampshire | 6.2 | 3.5 | -14,950 | | New Jersey | 8.3 | 4.5 | -108,913 | | New Mexico | 5.9 | 3.6 | -20,073 | | New York | 7.8 | 4.6 | -166,335 | | North Carolina | 10.8 | 5.0 | -238,793 | | North Dakota | 4.2 | 3.1 | -1,664 | | Ohio | 9.7 | 5.8 | -252,538 | | Oklahoma | 5.9 | 3.6 | -16,449 | | Oregon | 12.1 | 5.3 | -74,036 | | Pennsylvania | 7.8 | 4.6 | -105,227 | | Rhode Island | 10.5 | 6.0 | -31,279 | | South Carolina | 11.4 | 5.8 | -70,471 | | South Dakota | 4.9 | 2.7 | -4,039 | | Tennessee | 9.6 | 5.3 | -125,358 | | Texas | 6.7 | 4.4 | -19,988 | | Utah | 5.2 | 3.0 | -19,408 | | Vermont | 7.2 | 4.0 | -6,442 | | Virginia | 6.8 | 3.3 | -82,538 | | Washington | 9.2 | 4.6 | -54,607 | | West Virginia | 6.9 | 4.3 | -36,939 | | Wisconsin | 8.5 | 4.5 | -106,457 | | Wyoming | 4.5 | 2.9 | -4,704 |
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