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Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-385

For release: 10:00 A.M. EST

Thursday, March 10, 2005

STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 2004 ANNUAL AVERAGES

Annual average unemployment rates were down in all four regions and 43 states in 2004, while employment-population ratios were little changed in three regions and half the states, the Bureau of Labor

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. At the national level, the jobless rate fell by

0.5 percentage point to 5.5 percent, while the employment-population ratio was unchanged at 62.3 percent.

Regional Unemployment

Among the four regions, the West and Northeast registered the largest annual average unemployment

rate decreases from 2003 (-0.7 and -0.6 percentage point, respectively). The Northeast and South reported

the lowest jobless rates in 2004, 5.3 percent each, while the West continued to record the highest rate, 5.9

percent. The Midwest had a rate of 5.7 percent. The range between the high and low regional unemployment rates narrowed from 0.9 percentage point in 2003 to 0.6 point in 2004.

At the division level, the Middle Atlantic, New England, Pacific, and West South Central had the largest

unemployment rate declines in 2004 (-0.6 percentage point each). No division posted a rate increase over

the year. The New England and South Atlantic divisions recorded the lowest jobless rates in 2004, 4.8

percent each, little different from that of the West North Central, 4.9 percent. The Pacific and East North

Central divisions reported the highest unemployment rates, 6.3 and 6.1 percent, respectively.

State Unemployment

Annual average unemployment rates decreased in 43 states from 2003 to 2004, rose in 4 states and

the District of Columbia, and were unchanged in 3 states. The largest rate declines were in Washington

All subnational estimates presented in this release, except those for Puerto Rico, were

derived from newly updated time-series models with real-time benchmarking to national

Current Population Survey (CPS) estimates. A description of the changes to the estimation methodology is available from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Web site at

http://www.bls.gov/lau/lausredesignqa.htm. Data for Puerto Rico are not included in the

U.S. totals.

Effective with this release, annual averages for regions, divisions, states, and the

District of Columbia shown in tables 1 and 2, reflect historical revisions back to 1976.
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(-1.2 percentage points), New Jersey (-1.1 points), and North Carolina (-1.0 point). Twenty-two additional

states registered over-the-year rate decreases of at least one-half percentage point. This group included most

of the states in the West. In 2004, no state had an unemployment rate increase larger than 0.4 percentage

point. The District of Columbia’s rate rose by 1.0 percentage point. (See table 1 and chart 1.)

Hawaii had the lowest jobless rate among all states, 3.3 percent. Two West North Central states posted

the next lowest rates—North Dakota, 3.4 percent, and South Dakota, 3.5 percent. Five additional states

reported annual average unemployment rates below 4.0 percent. Two Pacific states—Alaska and Oregon—

recorded the highest jobless rates in 2004, 7.5 and 7.4 percent, respectively. Michigan, at 7.1 percent, was

the only other state with a rate above 7.0 percent. The District of Columbia’s rate was 8.2 percent.

Overall, 30 states had unemployment rates below the national average of 5.5 percent, 16 states and the

District of Columbia had rates above it, and 4 states had the same rate. All six states in the New England

division, six of the eight states in the Mountain, and five of the seven states in the West North Central posted

rates below that of the U.S. In contrast, four of the five Pacific division states and three of the four West

South Central states recorded rates above the national rate. (See chart 2.)

Regional Employment-Population Ratios

Three of the four regions registered little or no change in their employment-population ratios—the

proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and over that was employed—from 2003.

The Northeast posted the largest change, an increase of 0.4 percentage point. Relative to the 62.3 percent employment-population ratio for the U.S., the Midwest (64.5 percent) and West (62.6 percent)

reported higher ratios, while the Northeast (61.5 percent) and South (61.3 percent) had lower ratios.

Of the nine geographic divisions, the Middle Atlantic recorded the largest over-the-year change in its

employment-population ratio, an increase of 0.6 percentage point. The West North Central again registered

the highest proportion of employed persons (68.0 percent), while the East South Central continued to report

the lowest proportion (58.9 percent).

State Employment-Population Ratios

In 2004, 25 states posted declines in their proportions of employed persons from 2003, 19 states and

the District of Columbia reported increases, and 6 states had no change. The largest employment-population ratio declines were in Delaware (-1.0 percentage point) and Rhode Island (-0.9 point). Five other

states recorded declines of at least one-half percentage point. Washington reported the largest increase in

its employment-population ratio in 2004 (+1.2 percentage points). Colorado had the next largest increase

 (+0.9 percentage point), followed by Arkansas, New York, and Pennsylvania (+0.6 point each). (See

table 2 and chart 3.)

West Virginia continued to have the lowest employment-population ratio among all states in 2004,

51.4 percent. No other state reported a ratio below 57 percent. Seven of the other nine states with

employment-population ratios below 60 percent also were located in the South. Minnesota continued to

record the highest proportion of employed persons, 71.4 percent, followed by two other West North

Central states—Nebraska and South Dakota—at 71.2 and 70.5 percent, respectively. These three were

the only states with ratios over 70.0 percent. Thirty-two states recorded employment-population ratios

higher than the U.S. figure (62.3 percent), while 18 states and the District of Columbia registered lower

ratios. All states in the New England and the West North Central divisions again reported employment-
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population ratios above that of the U.S., while all states in the East South Central division again had ratios

below it.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice

phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 

2003-04 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

 United States .............................................................................................................................. 221,168 223,357 146,510 147,401 137,736 139,252 8,774 8,149 6.0 5.5

Northeast .............................................................................................................................. 42,237 42,429 27,408 27,546 25,796 26,081 1,612 1,466 5.9 5.3

 New England .............................................................................................................................. 11,091 11,155 7,551 7,529 7,140 7,166 410 363 5.4 4.8

 Connecticut .............................................................................................................................. 2,680 2,700 1,805 1,797 1,706 1,710 99 88 5.5 4.9

 Maine .............................................................................................................................. 1,042 1,055 694 699 660 667 35 32 5.0 4.6

 Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................. 5,027 5,036 3,414 3,393 3,216 3,219 198 174 5.8 5.1

 New Hampshire .............................................................................................................................. 1,005 1,018 717 723 685 696 32 27 4.5 3.8

 Rhode Island .............................................................................................................................. 844 848 569 562 538 533 31 29 5.4 5.2

 Vermont .............................................................................................................................. 494 499 352 353 336 340 16 13 4.5 3.7

 Middle Atlantic .............................................................................................................................. 31,146 31,274 19,857 20,018 18,656 18,915 1,202 1,103 6.1 5.5

 New Jersey .............................................................................................................................. 6,618 6,666 4,371 4,388 4,115 4,176 256 212 5.9 4.8

 New York .............................................................................................................................. 14,875 14,906 9,300 9,355 8,705 8,812 595 543 6.4 5.8

 Pennsylvania .............................................................................................................................. 9,653 9,702 6,186 6,275 5,835 5,927 351 348 5.7 5.5

Midwest .............................................................................................................................. 49,984 50,378 34,284 34,440 32,263 32,472 2,020 1,968 5.9 5.7

 East North Central .............................................................................................................................. 34,981 35,222 23,522 23,601 22,033 22,167 1,489 1,434 6.3 6.1

 Illinois .............................................................................................................................. 9,576 9,641 6,361 6,396 5,934 6,000 427 396 6.7 6.2

 Indiana .............................................................................................................................. 4,687 4,725 3,169 3,170 3,001 3,005 168 165 5.3 5.2

 Michigan .............................................................................................................................. 7,703 7,748 5,054 5,079 4,695 4,719 358 360 7.1 7.1

 Ohio .............................................................................................................................. 8,781 8,828 5,869 5,885 5,506 5,523 363 362 6.2 6.1

 Wisconsin .............................................................................................................................. 4,233 4,280 3,069 3,071 2,897 2,919 172 152 5.6 4.9

 West North Central .............................................................................................................................. 15,003 15,156 10,762 10,838 10,231 10,305 531 533 4.9 4.9

 Iowa .............................................................................................................................. 2,287 2,307 1,620 1,624 1,548 1,545 72 78 4.4 4.8

 Kansas .............................................................................................................................. 2,053 2,069 1,447 1,464 1,366 1,384 81 80 5.6 5.5

 Minnesota .............................................................................................................................. 3,898 3,943 2,929 2,952 2,786 2,814 143 138 4.9 4.7

 Missouri .............................................................................................................................. 4,378 4,424 3,014 3,031 2,846 2,859 168 172 5.6 5.7

 Nebraska .............................................................................................................................. 1,318 1,331 976 985 937 948 39 37 4.0 3.8

 North Dakota .............................................................................................................................. 492 497 351 354 339 342 13 12 3.6 3.4

 South Dakota .............................................................................................................................. 578 586 424 428 409 413 15 15 3.5 3.5

South .............................................................................................................................. 78,713 80,003 51,235 51,767 48,300 49,037 2,935 2,730 5.7 5.3

 South Atlantic .............................................................................................................................. 41,316 42,053 26,939 27,297 25,526 25,975 1,414 1,322 5.2 4.8

 Delaware .............................................................................................................................. 630 643 420 423 404 406 17 17 4.0 4.1

 District of Columbia .............................................................................................................................. 448 443 298 299 277 274 21 24 7.2 8.2

 Florida .............................................................................................................................. 13,197 13,521 8,195 8,396 7,764 7,997 431 399 5.3 4.8

 Georgia .............................................................................................................................. 6,416 6,534 4,341 4,390 4,135 4,188 206 202 4.7 4.6

 Maryland .............................................................................................................................. 4,178 4,223 2,880 2,883 2,751 2,761 128 122 4.5 4.2

 North Carolina .............................................................................................................................. 6,340 6,439 4,230 4,256 3,957 4,021 273 236 6.5 5.5

 South Carolina .............................................................................................................................. 3,147 3,193 2,013 2,046 1,878 1,907 135 140 6.7 6.8

 Virginia .............................................................................................................................. 5,516 5,605 3,767 3,815 3,612 3,674 155 140 4.1 3.7

 West Virginia .............................................................................................................................. 1,445 1,452 796 788 748 747 48 42 6.0 5.3

 East South Central .............................................................................................................................. 13,267 13,411 8,337 8,361 7,845 7,899 492 461 5.9 5.5

 Alabama .............................................................................................................................. 3,451 3,484 2,133 2,149 2,009 2,029 124 119 5.8 5.6

 Kentucky .............................................................................................................................. 3,163 3,194 1,979 1,974 1,856 1,870 123 104 6.2 5.3

 Mississippi .............................................................................................................................. 2,146 2,169 1,322 1,330 1,237 1,248 85 82 6.4 6.2

 Tennessee .............................................................................................................................. 4,507 4,564 2,903 2,908 2,742 2,752 161 156 5.5 5.4

 West South Central .............................................................................................................................. 24,129 24,539 15,959 16,110 14,929 15,163 1,030 946 6.5 5.9

 Arkansas .............................................................................................................................. 2,076 2,102 1,279 1,306 1,205 1,232 75 74 5.9 5.7

 Louisiana .............................................................................................................................. 3,349 3,377 2,042 2,058 1,915 1,940 128 117 6.3 5.7

 Oklahoma .............................................................................................................................. 2,647 2,671 1,710 1,710 1,614 1,628 95 83 5.6 4.8

 Texas .............................................................................................................................. 16,057 16,388 10,927 11,035 10,196 10,363 731 672 6.7 6.1

West .............................................................................................................................. 49,706 50,546 33,228 33,648 31,048 31,663 2,181 1,985 6.6 5.9

 Mountain .............................................................................................................................. 14,441 14,790 9,859 10,057 9,302 9,549 557 509 5.6 5.1

 Arizona .............................................................................................................................. 4,137 4,266 2,707 2,774 2,553 2,637 154 137 5.7 5.0

 Colorado .............................................................................................................................. 3,427 3,468 2,480 2,522 2,325 2,383 155 139 6.2 5.5

 Idaho .............................................................................................................................. 1,014 1,039 691 703 654 670 37 33 5.3 4.7

 Montana .............................................................................................................................. 717 730 473 483 452 462 21 21 4.4 4.4

 Nevada .............................................................................................................................. 1,686 1,759 1,149 1,178 1,090 1,126 59 51 5.1 4.3

 New Mexico .............................................................................................................................. 1,407 1,436 893 912 841 860 53 52 5.9 5.7

 Utah .............................................................................................................................. 1,664 1,697 1,188 1,203 1,121 1,140 67 63 5.7 5.2

 Wyoming .............................................................................................................................. 389 395 277 282 265 271 12 11 4.4 3.9

 Pacific .............................................................................................................................. 35,266 35,755 23,370 23,591 21,746 22,114 1,624 1,476 6.9 6.3

 Alaska .............................................................................................................................. 457 465 331 333 305 308 26 25 7.7 7.5

 California .............................................................................................................................. 26,412 26,768 17,414 17,552 16,223 16,460 1,190 1,092 6.8 6.2

 Hawaii .............................................................................................................................. 932 946 612 616 589 596 24 20 3.9 3.3

 Oregon .............................................................................................................................. 2,768 2,800 1,852 1,856 1,702 1,719 151 138 8.1 7.4

 Washington .............................................................................................................................. 4,696 4,777 3,160 3,234 2,927 3,032 233 201 7.4 6.2

Puerto Rico .............................................................................................................................. 2,918 2,938 1,364 1,371 1,200 1,226 163 145 12.0 10.6

 NOTE: Data refer to place of residence. Data for Puerto Rico are derived from incorporate updated Census 2000-based population controls. As a

a monthly household survey similar to the Current Population Survey. Data for all result, they will not add to U.S. totals. Unemployment rates are based

other areas reflect an updated model-based methodology. Subnational data on unrounded levels.

Unemployed

2003 2004

Unemployment rate

Region, division, and state

Population Civilian labor force Employed

2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004
Table 2. Employment-population ratio of persons 16 years of age

and over by region, division, and state, 2003-04 annual averages 

(Percent)

 Employment-population ratio 1

2003 2004

 United States .............................................................................................................................. 62.3 62.3 .0

Northeast .............................................................................................................................. 61.1 61.5 0.4

 New England .............................................................................................................................. 64.4 64.2 -.2

 Connecticut .............................................................................................................................. 63.7 63.3 -.4

 Maine .............................................................................................................................. 63.3 63.3 .0

 Massachusetts .............................................................................................................................. 64.0 63.9 -.1

 New Hampshire .............................................................................................................................. 68.2 68.3 .1

 Rhode Island .............................................................................................................................. 63.8 62.9 -.9

 Vermont .............................................................................................................................. 67.9 68.2 .3

 Middle Atlantic .............................................................................................................................. 59.9 60.5 .6

 New Jersey .............................................................................................................................. 62.2 62.6 .4

 New York .............................................................................................................................. 58.5 59.1 .6

 Pennsylvania .............................................................................................................................. 60.5 61.1 .6

Midwest .............................................................................................................................. 64.5 64.5 .0

 East North Central .............................................................................................................................. 63.0 62.9 -.1

 Illinois .............................................................................................................................. 62.0 62.2 .2

 Indiana .............................................................................................................................. 64.0 63.6 -.4

 Michigan .............................................................................................................................. 61.0 60.9 -.1

 Ohio .............................................................................................................................. 62.7 62.6 -.1

 Wisconsin .............................................................................................................................. 68.4 68.2 -.2

 West North Central .............................................................................................................................. 68.2 68.0 -.2

 Iowa .............................................................................................................................. 67.7 67.0 -.7

 Kansas .............................................................................................................................. 66.5 66.9 .4

 Minnesota .............................................................................................................................. 71.5 71.4 -.1

 Missouri .............................................................................................................................. 65.0 64.6 -.4

 Nebraska .............................................................................................................................. 71.1 71.2 .1

 North Dakota .............................................................................................................................. 68.9 68.9 .0

 South Dakota .............................................................................................................................. 70.8 70.5 -.3

South .............................................................................................................................. 61.4 61.3 -.1

 South Atlantic .............................................................................................................................. 61.8 61.8 .0

 Delaware .............................................................................................................................. 64.1 63.1 -1.0

 District of Columbia .............................................................................................................................. 61.8 62.0 .2

 Florida .............................................................................................................................. 58.8 59.1 .3

 Georgia .............................................................................................................................. 64.4 64.1 -.3

 Maryland .............................................................................................................................. 65.9 65.4 -.5

 North Carolina .............................................................................................................................. 62.4 62.4 .0

 South Carolina .............................................................................................................................. 59.7 59.7 .0

 Virginia .............................................................................................................................. 65.5 65.6 .1

 West Virginia .............................................................................................................................. 51.8 51.4 -.4

 East South Central .............................................................................................................................. 59.1 58.9 -.2

 Alabama .............................................................................................................................. 58.2 58.2 .0

 Kentucky .............................................................................................................................. 58.7 58.6 -.1

 Mississippi .............................................................................................................................. 57.7 57.6 -.1

 Tennessee .............................................................................................................................. 60.8 60.3 -.5

 West South Central .............................................................................................................................. 61.9 61.8 -.1

 Arkansas .............................................................................................................................. 58.0 58.6 .6

 Louisiana .............................................................................................................................. 57.2 57.5 .3

 Oklahoma .............................................................................................................................. 61.0 60.9 -.1

 Texas .............................................................................................................................. 63.5 63.2 -.3

West .............................................................................................................................. 62.5 62.6 .1

 Mountain .............................................................................................................................. 64.4 64.6 .2

 Arizona .............................................................................................................................. 61.7 61.8 .1

 Colorado .............................................................................................................................. 67.8 68.7 .9

 Idaho .............................................................................................................................. 64.5 64.5 .0

 Montana .............................................................................................................................. 63.1 63.3 .2

 Nevada .............................................................................................................................. 64.6 64.0 -.6

 New Mexico .............................................................................................................................. 59.8 59.9 .1

 Utah .............................................................................................................................. 67.4 67.2 -.2

 Wyoming .............................................................................................................................. 68.2 68.5 .3

 Pacific .............................................................................................................................. 61.7 61.8 .1

 Alaska .............................................................................................................................. 66.7 66.2 -.5

 California .............................................................................................................................. 61.4 61.5 .1

 Hawaii .............................................................................................................................. 63.1 63.0 -.1

 Oregon .............................................................................................................................. 61.5 61.4 -.1

 Washington .............................................................................................................................. 62.3 63.5 1.2

Puerto Rico .............................................................................................................................. 41.1 41.7 .6

 1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age

and over.

 NOTE: Data for Puerto Rico are derived from a household survey similar to the Current

Population Survey. Employment-population ratios are based on unrounded levels.

Region, division, and state change

Over-the-year