For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, March 1, 2023 USDL-23-0397 

Technical information: (202) 691-6392 • lausinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/lau 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov

REGIONAL AND STATE UNEMPLOYMENT — 2022 ANNUAL AVERAGES

In 2022, annual average unemployment rates decreased in 49 states and the District of Columbia, while 

the rate was little changed in 1 state, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employmentpopulation ratios increased in 36 states and the District and were little changed in 14 states. The U.S. 

jobless rate declined by 1.7 percentage points from the prior year to 3.6 percent, while the national 

employment-population ratio rose by 1.6 points to 60.0 percent. 

Regional Unemployment 

Unemployment rates decreased from 2021 in all four regions: the Northeast (-2.3 percentage points), the 

West (-2.2 points), the South (-1.4 points), and the Midwest (-1.2 points). The South, 3.4 percent, 

registered a jobless rate lower than the U.S. rate in 2022, while the Northeast and West, 4.0 percent 

each, had rates higher than the national figure. The unemployment rates in the Midwest (3.5 percent) 

and South (3.4 percent) were the lowest in their annual average series. All region, division, and state 

series begin in 1976. (See table 1.) 

 

All nine geographic divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases in 2022, with the largest 

of these occurring in the Pacific and Middle Atlantic (-2.6 percentage points and -2.4 points, 

respectively). The smallest rate decreases were in the East South Central (-0.9 percentage point) and 

West North Central (-1.0 point). The West North Central had the lowest jobless rate, 2.6 percent, 

followed by the South Atlantic, 3.2 percent. The rates in these two divisions set new annual average 

series lows, as did the rates in the East South Central (3.4 percent) and Mountain (3.5 percent). The 

highest jobless rates among the divisions were in the Middle Atlantic and Pacific, 4.2 percent each, 

followed by the East North Central, 3.9 percent. 

Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data

Effective with this news release, data for regions, divisions, states, the District of Columbia, and 

modeled substate areas have been re-estimated from 2018 through 2022. The annual average data shown 

in tables 1 and 2 were affected, as were monthly seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted data. 

Information on these data revisions is available at www.bls.gov/lau/launews1.htm.
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State Unemployment

In 2022, 49 states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases and 1 state had little 

change. The largest decreases occurred in California and New Mexico (-3.1 percentage points each). 

Eight additional states and the District had rate declines of at least 2.0 percentage points. (See table A 

and map 1.) 

Nineteen states and the District of Columbia set new annual average series low unemployment rates in 

2022. North Dakota and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates among the states, 2.1 percent each. 

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate, 5.4 percent. Overall, 21 states had unemployment rates 

lower than the U.S. figure of 3.6 percent, 8 states and the District had higher rates, and 21 states had 

rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See tables B and C and map 2.) 

Regional Employment-Population Ratios 

In 2022, all four census regions had increases in their employment-population ratios—the proportion of 

the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over who are employed. The West had the 

largest ratio increase (+2.1 percentage points), followed by the Northeast (+2.0 points). The Midwest 

had the highest employment-population ratio, 61.7 percent, while the South had the lowest ratio, 58.9 

percent. (See table 2.) 

All nine census divisions had over-the-year increases in their employment-population ratios in 2022, the 

largest of which were in the Pacific (+2.4 percentage points) and Middle Atlantic (+2.1 points). Three 

divisions had ratios notably higher than the U.S. ratio of 60.0 percent: the West North Central, 64.8

percent; New England, 62.2 percent; and Mountain, 61.6 percent. Three divisions had ratios that were 

lower than the national average: the East South Central, 56.0 percent; Middle Atlantic, 58.9 percent; and 

South Atlantic, 59.0 percent. 

State Employment-Population Ratios 

In 2022, employment-population ratios increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Connecticut 

(+3.6 percentage points) and the District (+3.0 points) had the largest increases, with an additional nine 

states experiencing ratio increases of at least 2.0 points. The remaining 14 states had ratios that were not 

notably different from those of the previous year, though some had changes that were at least as large 

numerically as the significant changes. (See table D.)

Nebraska had the highest proportion of employed persons in 2022, 68.1 percent, followed by North 

Dakota, 67.8 percent. The District of Columbia had the highest annual average employment-population 

ratio in its series, 67.4 percent. West Virginia and Mississippi had the lowest employment-population 

ratios among the states, 52.5 percent and 52.7 percent, respectively. Overall, 23 states and the District 

had employment-population ratios higher than the U.S. ratio of 60.0 percent, 18 states had lower ratios, 

and 9 states had ratios that were not appreciably different from that of the nation. (See table E and map 

3.) 

_____________ 

The State Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2023 is scheduled to be 

released on Monday, March 13, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The Metropolitan Area Employment and 

Unemployment news release for January 2023 is scheduled to be released on Friday, March 17, at 

10:00 a.m. (ET). 
-3- 

Table A. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes, 2021–22

annual averages

2021 2022

Alabama .................................. 3.4 2.6 -0.8

Alaska ..................................... 6.4 4.0 -2.4

Arizona .................................... 5.1 3.8 -1.3

Arkansas ................................. 4.1 3.3 -.8

California ................................. 7.3 4.2 -3.1

Colorado .................................. 5.4 3.0 -2.4

Connecticut ............................. 6.3 4.2 -2.1

Delaware ................................. 5.5 4.5 -1.0

District of Columbia .................. 6.8 4.7 -2.1

Florida ..................................... 4.6 2.9 -1.7

Georgia ................................... 3.9 3.0 -.9

Hawaii ..................................... 6.0 3.5 -2.5

Idaho ....................................... 3.5 2.7 -.8

Illinois ...................................... 6.1 4.6 -1.5

Indiana .................................... 3.9 3.0 -.9

Iowa ........................................ 3.8 2.7 -1.1

Kansas .................................... 3.3 2.7 -.6

Louisiana ................................. 5.6 3.7 -1.9

Maine ...................................... 4.6 3.0 -1.6

Maryland ................................. 5.3 3.2 -2.1

Massachusetts ........................ 5.5 3.8 -1.7

Michigan .................................. 5.8 4.2 -1.6

Minnesota ................................ 3.8 2.7 -1.1

Mississippi .............................. 5.5 3.9 -1.6

Missouri .................................. 4.1 2.5 -1.6

Montana .................................. 3.4 2.6 -.8

Nebraska ................................. 2.7 2.3 -.4

Nevada .................................... 6.9 5.4 -1.5

New Hampshire ........................ 3.4 2.5 -.9

New Jersey .............................. 6.6 3.7 -2.9

New Mexico ............................. 7.1 4.0 -3.1

New York ................................. 7.0 4.3 -2.7

North Carolina .......................... 4.9 3.7 -1.2

North Dakota ............................ 3.1 2.1 -1.0

Ohio ........................................ 5.1 4.0 -1.1

Oklahoma ................................ 4.0 3.0 -1.0

Oregon .................................... 5.2 4.2 -1.0

Pennsylvania ............................ 6.0 4.4 -1.6

Rhode Island ............................ 5.5 3.2 -2.3

South Carolina ......................... 3.9 3.2 -.7

South Dakota ........................... 2.6 2.1 -.5

Tennessee ............................... 4.5 3.4 -1.1

Texas ...................................... 5.6 3.9 -1.7

Utah ........................................ 2.7 2.3 -.4

Vermont .................................. 3.7 2.6 -1.1

Virginia .................................... 3.9 2.9 -1.0

Washington ............................. 5.2 4.2 -1.0

West Virginia ........................... 5.1 3.9 -1.2

Wisconsin ............................... 3.8 2.9 -.9

Wyoming ................................. 4.6 3.6 -1.0

Rate

State Over-the-year rate 

change 
-4- 

State Rate 

Alabama ......................................................... 2.6

Alaska ........................................................... 4.0

Arkansas ........................................................ 3.3

District of Columbia ......................................... 4.7

Georgia .......................................................... 3.0

Idaho .............................................................. 2.7

Kansas .......................................................... 2.7

Kentucky ........................................................ 3.9

Louisiana ........................................................ 3.7

Maryland ........................................................ 3.2

Mississippi ..................................................... 3.9

Missouri ......................................................... 2.5

Montana ......................................................... 2.6

Nebraska ........................................................ 2.3

North Dakota .................................................. 2.1

Ohio ............................................................... 4.0

South Dakota .................................................. 2.1

Utah ............................................................... 2.3

West Virginia .................................................. 3.9

Wisconsin ...................................................... 2.9

1

 All state series begin in 1976.

Table B. States with new series low unemployment rates,

2022 annual averages 1
-5- 

State Rate 

United States .................................................. 3.6

Alabama ......................................................... 2.6

California ........................................................ 4.2

Colorado ......................................................... 3.0

Delaware ........................................................ 4.5

District of Columbia ......................................... 4.7

Florida ............................................................ 2.9

Georgia .......................................................... 3.0

Idaho .............................................................. 2.7

Illinois ............................................................ 4.6

Indiana ........................................................... 3.0

Iowa ............................................................... 2.7

Kansas .......................................................... 2.7

Maine ............................................................. 3.0

Michigan ........................................................ 4.2

Minnesota ...................................................... 2.7

Missouri ......................................................... 2.5

Montana ......................................................... 2.6

Nebraska ........................................................ 2.3

Nevada ........................................................... 5.4

New Hampshire ............................................... 2.5

New York ....................................................... 4.3

North Dakota .................................................. 2.1

Oklahoma ....................................................... 3.0

Pennsylvania .................................................. 4.4

South Dakota .................................................. 2.1

Utah ............................................................... 2.3

Vermont ......................................................... 2.6

Virginia ........................................................... 2.9

Washington .................................................... 4.2

Wisconsin ...................................................... 2.9

of the U.S., 2022 annual averages

Table C. States with unemployment rates significantly different from that
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Table D. States with statistically significant employment-population ratio changes,

2021–22 annual averages

2021 2022

Alabama .................................. 54.7 55.5 0.8

Alaska ..................................... 60.6 62.6 2.0

Arizona .................................... 58.2 59.3 1.1

Arkansas ................................. 54.4 55.6 1.2

California ................................. 56.6 59.3 2.7

Colorado .................................. 64.4 66.3 1.9

Connecticut ............................. 59.2 62.8 3.6

District of Columbia .................. 64.4 67.4 3.0

Florida ..................................... 55.5 57.6 2.1

Hawaii ..................................... 56.0 58.1 2.1

Illinois ...................................... 59.3 61.5 2.2

Indiana .................................... 60.5 61.6 1.1

Iowa ........................................ 64.8 66.3 1.5

Louisiana ................................. 54.7 56.5 1.8

Maryland ................................. 61.5 62.8 1.3

Massachusetts ........................ 61.5 62.7 1.2

Michigan .................................. 55.8 57.3 1.5

Minnesota ................................ 64.9 66.3 1.4

Missouri .................................. 60.2 61.1 .9

Montana .................................. 60.2 61.4 1.2

Nevada .................................... 55.9 57.9 2.0

New Jersey .............................. 58.8 61.5 2.7

New Mexico ............................. 52.5 54.2 1.7

New York ................................. 55.3 57.7 2.4

North Carolina .......................... 56.5 58.7 2.2

North Dakota ............................ 66.5 67.8 1.3

Ohio ........................................ 58.2 59.0 .8

Oklahoma ................................ 58.3 59.1 .8

Oregon .................................... 58.8 60.2 1.4

Pennsylvania ............................ 57.7 59.1 1.4

Rhode Island ............................ 60.1 61.3 1.2

Texas ...................................... 59.9 61.4 1.5

Utah ........................................ 66.0 67.1 1.1

Vermont .................................. 59.9 61.5 1.6

Virginia .................................... 61.2 63.0 1.8

Washington ............................. 59.9 61.4 1.5

West Virginia ........................... 51.2 52.5 1.3

State

Ratio Over-the-year ratio 

change 
-7- 

State Ratio 

United States .................................................. 60.0

Alabama ......................................................... 55.5

Alaska ........................................................... 62.6

Arkansas ........................................................ 55.6

California ........................................................ 59.3

Colorado ......................................................... 66.3

Connecticut .................................................... 62.8

Delaware ........................................................ 57.7

District of Columbia ......................................... 67.4

Florida ............................................................ 57.6

Hawaii ............................................................ 58.1

Idaho .............................................................. 61.4

Illinois ............................................................ 61.5

Indiana ........................................................... 61.6

Iowa ............................................................... 66.3

Kansas .......................................................... 64.6

Kentucky ........................................................ 55.6

Louisiana ........................................................ 56.5

Maine ............................................................. 56.8

Maryland ........................................................ 62.8

Massachusetts ............................................... 62.7

Michigan ........................................................ 57.3

Minnesota ...................................................... 66.3

Mississippi ..................................................... 52.7

Montana ......................................................... 61.4

Nebraska ........................................................ 68.1

Nevada ........................................................... 57.9

New Hampshire ............................................... 64.5

New Jersey ..................................................... 61.5

New Mexico .................................................... 54.2

New York ....................................................... 57.7

North Carolina ................................................. 58.7

North Dakota .................................................. 67.8

South Carolina ................................................ 54.7

South Dakota .................................................. 66.8

Tennessee ...................................................... 57.9

Texas ............................................................. 61.4

Utah ............................................................... 67.1

Vermont ......................................................... 61.5

Virginia ........................................................... 63.0

Washington .................................................... 61.4

West Virginia .................................................. 52.5

Wisconsin ...................................................... 63.1

from that of the U.S., 2022 annual averages

Table E. States with employment-population ratios significantly different 
Technical Note

This release presents labor force and unemployment 

data for census regions and divisions and states from 

the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) 

program. The LAUS program is a federal-state 

cooperative endeavor.

Concepts

Definitions. The labor force and unemployment data 

are based on the same concepts and definitions as 

those used for the official national estimates obtained 

from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a sample 

survey of households that is conducted for the Bureau 

of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The LAUS program measures employed and 

unemployed persons on a place-of-residence basis. 

The universe for each is the civilian noninstitutional 

population 16 years of age and older. Employed 

persons are those who did any work at all for pay or 

profit in the reference week (the week including the 

12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without 

pay in a family business or farm, plus those not 

working who had a job from which they were 

temporarily absent, whether or not paid, for such 

reasons as labor management dispute, illness, or 

vacation. Unemployed persons are those who were not 

employed during the reference week (based on the 

definition above), had actively looked for a job 

sometime in the 4-week period ending with the 

reference week, and were currently available for work; 

persons on layoff expecting recall need not be looking 

for work to be counted as unemployed. The labor force 

is the sum of employed and unemployed persons. The 

unemployment rate is the number of unemployed 

persons expressed as a percent of the labor force. The 

employment-population ratio is the proportion of the 

civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age 

and older that is employed.

Method of estimation. Estimates for 48 of the 50 

states, the District of Columbia, the Los Angeles-Long 

Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, New York 

City, and the balances of California and New York 

State are produced using estimating equations based 

on regression techniques. This method uses data from 

several sources, including the CPS, the Current 

Employment Statistics (CES) survey of nonfarm 

payroll employment, and state unemployment 

insurance (UI) programs. Estimates for the state of 

California are derived by summing the estimates for 

the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan 

division and the balance of California. Similarly, 

estimates for New York State are derived by summing

the estimates for New York City and the balance of 

New York State. Estimates for all nine census 

divisions are based on a similar regression approach 

that does not incorporate CES or UI data. Estimates for 

census regions are obtained by summing the modelbased estimates for the component divisions and then 

calculating the unemployment rate. Each month, 

census division estimates are controlled to national 

totals; state estimates are then controlled to their 

respective division totals. Estimates for Puerto Rico 

are derived from a monthly household survey similar 

to the CPS. A detailed description of the estimation 

procedures is available from BLS upon request. 

Annual revisions. Labor force and unemployment 

data for prior years reflect adjustments made at the 

beginning of each year. The adjusted estimates 

incorporate updated population controls from the U.S. 

Census Bureau, any revisions in the other data sources, 

and model re-estimation. The population controls 

reflect a “blended base,” with elements from three 

independent data sources for April 1, 2020. In most 

years, historical data for the most recent 5 years (both 

seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted) are 

revised near the beginning of each calendar year, prior 

to the release of January estimates. Though the labor 

force estimates typically are updated for 5 years, the 

population controls are revised back to the most recent 

decennial estimates base (April 2020).

Reliability of the estimates

The estimates presented in this release are based on 

sample surveys, administrative data, and modeling 

and, thus, are subject to sampling and other types of 

errors. Sampling error is a measure of sampling 

variability—that is, variation that occurs by chance 

because a sample rather than the entire population is 

surveyed. Survey data also are subject to nonsampling 

errors, such as those which can be introduced into the 

data collection and processing operations. Estimates 

not directly derived from sample surveys are subject 

to additional errors resulting from the specific 

estimation processes used. In table 1, level estimates 

for states may not sum to level estimates for regions 

and divisions because of rounding. Unemployment 

rates and employment-population ratios are computed 

from unrounded levels and, thus, may differ slightly 

from rates and ratios computed using the rounded level 

estimates displayed in table 1.

Use of error measures. Changes in unemployment 

rates and employment-population ratios are cited in 

the analysis of this release only if they have been 

determined to be statistically significant. Furthermore, 

unemployment rates and employment-population 
ratios for the latest year generally are cited only if they 

have been determined to be significantly different 

from the corresponding U.S. measure. The underlying 

model-based error measures are available online at 

www.bls.gov/lau/lastderr.htm. BLS uses 90-percent 

confidence levels in determining whether changes in 

LAUS unemployment rates and employmentpopulation ratios are statistically significant. The 

average magnitude of the over-the-year change in an 

annual state unemployment rate that is required in 

order to be statistically significant at the 90-percent

confidence level is about 0.5 percentage point. The 

average magnitude of the over-the-year change in an 

annual state employment-population ratio that is

required in order to be statistically significant at the 

90-percent confidence level is about 0.8 percentage 

point. Measures of nonsampling error are not 

available.

Additional information

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice 

phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 

(800) 877-8339.
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state,

2021–22 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Population Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Unemployment rate

2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022 2021 2022

United States ...................... 261,445 263,973 161,204 164,287 152,581 158,291 8,623 5,996 5.3 3.6 3.6 – 3.7 

Northeast ................................. 46,399 46,331 28,617 28,865 26,825 27,708 1,792 1,157 6.3 4.0 3.8 – 4.2 

New England ...................... 12,413 12,452 7,948 8,030 7,523 7,742 425 288 5.3 3.6 3.3 – 3.9 

Connecticut .................... 2,937 2,947 1,855 1,932 1,739 1,852 116 80 6.3 4.2 3.5 – 4.8 

Maine ............................. 1,142 1,153 685 675 653 655 32 20 4.6 3.0 2.3 – 3.6 

Massachusetts ............... 5,745 5,751 3,743 3,744 3,536 3,603 207 141 5.5 3.8 3.4 – 4.2 

New Hampshire ............. 1,150 1,159 757 767 731 747 26 19 3.4 2.5 2.1 – 3.0 

Rhode Island ................. 900 900 572 569 540 551 32 18 5.5 3.2 2.6 – 3.8 

Vermont ......................... 540 542 336 342 323 333 12 9 3.7 2.6 2.2 – 3.0 

Middle Atlantic .................... 33,985 33,880 20,669 20,836 19,302 19,966 1,367 870 6.6 4.2 3.9 – 4.4 

New Jersey .................... 7,411 7,421 4,666 4,740 4,357 4,564 309 176 6.6 3.7 3.2 – 4.2 

New York ....................... 16,078 15,968 9,558 9,617 8,886 9,206 672 411 7.0 4.3 3.9 – 4.6 

Pennsylvania ................. 10,496 10,491 6,445 6,479 6,059 6,196 386 283 6.0 4.4 4.0 – 4.7 

Midwest .................................... 54,459 54,554 34,539 34,845 32,925 33,633 1,614 1,212 4.7 3.5 3.3 – 3.6 

East North Central .............. 37,529 37,552 23,330 23,536 22,123 22,614 1,207 922 5.2 3.9 3.7 – 4.1 

Illinois ............................. 10,083 10,036 6,366 6,473 5,980 6,177 386 296 6.1 4.6 4.1 – 5.0 

Indiana ........................... 5,331 5,358 3,356 3,404 3,225 3,303 131 102 3.9 3.0 2.5 – 3.4 

Michigan ........................ 8,066 8,079 4,780 4,836 4,502 4,633 278 203 5.8 4.2 3.7 – 4.7 

Ohio ............................... 9,332 9,339 5,729 5,741 5,435 5,510 294 231 5.1 4.0 3.6 – 4.5 

Wisconsin ...................... 4,717 4,740 3,100 3,082 2,981 2,992 119 90 3.8 2.9 2.5 – 3.4 

West North Central ............ 16,930 17,002 11,208 11,309 10,802 11,019 407 290 3.6 2.6 2.4 – 2.8 

Iowa ................................ 2,511 2,519 1,690 1,717 1,626 1,670 64 47 3.8 2.7 2.3 – 3.2 

Kansas ........................... 2,261 2,268 1,501 1,505 1,451 1,465 49 40 3.3 2.7 2.2 – 3.1 

Minnesota ...................... 4,504 4,519 3,039 3,078 2,924 2,995 115 83 3.8 2.7 2.3 – 3.1 

Missouri .......................... 4,863 4,882 3,050 3,061 2,925 2,984 125 77 4.1 2.5 2.1 – 2.9 

Nebraska ....................... 1,512 1,519 1,050 1,059 1,021 1,034 28 25 2.7 2.3 1.9 – 2.7 

North Dakota ................. 596 599 409 414 396 406 13 9 3.1 2.1 1.8 – 2.4 

South Dakota ................. 684 696 470 475 457 465 12 10 2.6 2.1 1.7 – 2.5 

South ....................................... 99,993 101,280 60,447 61,753 57,565 59,663 2,882 2,089 4.8 3.4 3.3 – 3.5 

South Atlantic ..................... 53,123 53,854 31,997 32,808 30,550 31,770 1,447 1,039 4.5 3.2 3.0 – 3.3 

Delaware ........................ 808 821 494 497 467 474 27 22 5.5 4.5 3.9 – 5.2 

District of Columbia ....... 547 550 378 388 352 370 26 18 6.8 4.7 4.1 – 5.3 

Florida ............................ 17,776 18,134 10,353 10,762 9,873 10,449 481 313 4.6 2.9 2.6 – 3.2 

Georgia .......................... 8,398 8,514 5,179 5,234 4,978 5,075 202 159 3.9 3.0 2.6 – 3.4 

Maryland ........................ 4,884 4,887 3,173 3,172 3,005 3,069 168 103 5.3 3.2 2.7 – 3.8 

North Carolina ............... 8,339 8,468 4,955 5,159 4,713 4,971 242 188 4.9 3.7 3.2 – 4.1 

South Carolina ............... 4,124 4,204 2,354 2,375 2,261 2,298 93 77 3.9 3.2 2.8 – 3.7 

Virginia ........................... 6,804 6,840 4,331 4,436 4,163 4,309 169 127 3.9 2.9 2.5 – 3.2 

West Virginia ................. 1,442 1,436 779 785 739 754 40 31 5.1 3.9 3.4 – 4.4 

East South Central ............. 15,328 15,430 8,866 8,937 8,482 8,635 384 302 4.3 3.4 3.1 – 3.6 

Alabama ......................... 3,990 4,014 2,259 2,286 2,183 2,227 76 59 3.4 2.6 2.2 – 3.0 

Kentucky ........................ 3,534 3,541 2,027 2,048 1,938 1,968 90 80 4.4 3.9 3.3 – 4.5 

Mississippi ...................... 2,281 2,280 1,256 1,251 1,187 1,202 69 49 5.5 3.9 3.4 – 4.5 

Tennessee ..................... 5,523 5,595 3,324 3,352 3,174 3,239 149 113 4.5 3.4 2.9 – 3.9 

West South Central ............ 31,542 31,997 19,585 20,007 18,533 19,259 1,052 748 5.4 3.7 3.5 – 4.0 

Arkansas ........................ 2,362 2,380 1,340 1,369 1,285 1,324 54 45 4.1 3.3 2.8 – 3.8 

Louisiana ....................... 3,580 3,560 2,074 2,088 1,958 2,012 115 76 5.6 3.7 3.2 – 4.1 

Oklahoma ...................... 3,065 3,094 1,860 1,887 1,786 1,830 75 57 4.0 3.0 2.5 – 3.5 

Texas ............................. 22,535 22,963 14,311 14,663 13,504 14,093 807 570 5.6 3.9 3.6 – 4.2 

West ........................................ 62,243 62,605 38,627 39,318 36,231 37,762 2,397 1,556 6.2 4.0 3.8 – 4.1 

Mountain ............................. 19,854 20,151 12,584 12,866 11,953 12,418 631 448 5.0 3.5 3.3 – 3.7 

Arizona ........................... 5,756 5,860 3,531 3,615 3,352 3,477 178 138 5.1 3.8 3.3 – 4.3 

Colorado ........................ 4,635 4,681 3,158 3,201 2,986 3,104 172 97 5.4 3.0 2.5 – 3.5 

Idaho .............................. 1,471 1,507 925 951 893 925 32 25 3.5 2.7 2.3 – 3.0 

Montana ......................... 884 900 551 568 532 553 19 15 3.4 2.6 2.2 – 3.0 

Nevada .......................... 2,497 2,533 1,499 1,550 1,396 1,466 104 84 6.9 5.4 4.7 – 6.1 

New Mexico ................... 1,671 1,676 943 947 877 909 67 38 7.1 4.0 3.4 – 4.6 

Utah ............................... 2,486 2,537 1,688 1,743 1,641 1,703 46 40 2.7 2.3 2.0 – 2.7 

Wyoming ........................ 454 458 289 292 276 281 13 10 4.6 3.6 3.0 – 4.1 

Pacific ................................. 42,390 42,454 26,043 26,452 24,278 25,344 1,765 1,108 6.8 4.2 4.0 – 4.4 

Alaska ............................ 546 547 353 357 331 342 23 14 6.4 4.0 3.3 – 4.8 

California ........................ 31,090 31,094 18,973 19,252 17,586 18,441 1,387 811 7.3 4.2 4.0 – 4.5 

Hawaii ............................ 1,125 1,124 670 676 630 653 40 24 6.0 3.5 2.9 – 4.0 

Oregon ........................... 3,464 3,466 2,148 2,177 2,035 2,086 112 91 5.2 4.2 3.6 – 4.7 

Washington ................... 6,165 6,223 3,899 3,990 3,696 3,822 203 168 5.2 4.2 3.7 – 4.7 

Puerto Rico .............................. 2,754 2,742 1,172 1,189 1,079 1,118 93 72 7.9 6.0 NA

Region, division, and state Error range of rate, 

2022 1

1 Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level and are based on unrounded data. NA = Data not available. NOTE: Data refer to place of residence. Unemployment rates are in percent and are based on

unrounded levels. Data for subnational areas reflect revised population controls and model reestimation. As a result, they will not add to U.S. totals. Data for Puerto Rico are derived from 

a monthly household survey similar to the Current Population Survey.
Table 2. Employment-population ratios of persons 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state,

2021–22 annual averages

(Percent)

Employment-population ratio 1

2021 2022

United States ............................................................... 58.4 60.0 1.6 59.8 – 60.1 

Northeast .......................................................................... 57.8 59.8 2.0 59.4 – 60.3 

New England ............................................................... 60.6 62.2 1.6 61.5 – 62.8 

Connecticut ............................................................. 59.2 62.8 3.6 61.4 – 64.3 

Maine ...................................................................... 57.2 56.8 -.4 55.2 – 58.5 

Massachusetts ........................................................ 61.5 62.7 1.2 61.6 – 63.7 

New Hampshire ...................................................... 63.6 64.5 .9 63.2 – 65.7 

Rhode Island ........................................................... 60.1 61.3 1.2 59.7 – 62.8 

Vermont .................................................................. 59.9 61.5 1.6 60.2 – 62.8 

Middle Atlantic ............................................................. 56.8 58.9 2.1 58.4 – 59.5 

New Jersey ............................................................. 58.8 61.5 2.7 60.4 – 62.6 

New York ................................................................ 55.3 57.7 2.4 56.9 – 58.4 

Pennsylvania .......................................................... 57.7 59.1 1.4 58.2 – 60.0 

Midwest ............................................................................ 60.5 61.7 1.2 61.2 – 62.1 

East North Central ....................................................... 58.9 60.2 1.3 59.7 – 60.8 

Illinois ...................................................................... 59.3 61.5 2.2 60.6 – 62.5 

Indiana .................................................................... 60.5 61.6 1.1 60.4 – 62.9 

Michigan ................................................................. 55.8 57.3 1.5 56.3 – 58.4 

Ohio ........................................................................ 58.2 59.0 .8 58.0 – 60.0 

Wisconsin ............................................................... 63.2 63.1 -.1 61.8 – 64.5 

West North Central ...................................................... 63.8 64.8 1.0 64.1 – 65.5 

Iowa ........................................................................ 64.8 66.3 1.5 64.9 – 67.7 

Kansas .................................................................... 64.2 64.6 .4 63.3 – 65.9 

Minnesota ............................................................... 64.9 66.3 1.4 64.9 – 67.6 

Missouri .................................................................. 60.2 61.1 .9 59.8 – 62.4 

Nebraska ................................................................ 67.6 68.1 .5 66.8 – 69.3 

North Dakota ........................................................... 66.5 67.8 1.3 66.0 – 69.5 

South Dakota .......................................................... 66.8 66.8 .0 65.2 – 68.5 

South ................................................................................ 57.6 58.9 1.3 58.6 – 59.2 

South Atlantic ............................................................... 57.5 59.0 1.5 58.5 – 59.4 

Delaware ................................................................. 57.7 57.7 .0 56.3 – 59.1 

District of Columbia ................................................. 64.4 67.4 3.0 66.0 – 68.7 

Florida ..................................................................... 55.5 57.6 2.1 56.9 – 58.3 

Georgia ................................................................... 59.3 59.6 .3 58.6 – 60.7 

Maryland ................................................................. 61.5 62.8 1.3 61.4 – 64.2 

North Carolina ......................................................... 56.5 58.7 2.2 57.7 – 59.7 

South Carolina ........................................................ 54.8 54.7 -.1 53.5 – 55.8 

Virginia .................................................................... 61.2 63.0 1.8 61.8 – 64.2 

West Virginia ........................................................... 51.2 52.5 1.3 51.0 – 54.1 

East South Central ...................................................... 55.3 56.0 .7 55.2 – 56.7 

Alabama .................................................................. 54.7 55.5 .8 54.1 – 56.8 

Kentucky ................................................................. 54.8 55.6 .8 54.1 – 57.0 

Mississippi .............................................................. 52.1 52.7 .6 51.4 – 54.1 

Tennessee .............................................................. 57.5 57.9 .4 56.6 – 59.2 

West South Central ..................................................... 58.8 60.2 1.4 59.7 – 60.7 

Arkansas ................................................................. 54.4 55.6 1.2 54.4 – 56.9 

Louisiana ................................................................ 54.7 56.5 1.8 55.3 – 57.7 

Oklahoma ................................................................ 58.3 59.1 .8 57.8 – 60.5 

Texas ...................................................................... 59.9 61.4 1.5 60.7 – 62.0 

West ................................................................................. 58.2 60.3 2.1 59.9 – 60.7 

Mountain ...................................................................... 60.2 61.6 1.4 61.0 – 62.2 

Arizona .................................................................... 58.2 59.3 1.1 58.0 – 60.7 

Colorado ................................................................. 64.4 66.3 1.9 65.0 – 67.6 

Idaho ....................................................................... 60.7 61.4 .7 60.1 – 62.7 

Montana .................................................................. 60.2 61.4 1.2 60.2 – 62.6 

Nevada ................................................................... 55.9 57.9 2.0 56.4 – 59.3 

New Mexico ............................................................ 52.5 54.2 1.7 53.1 – 55.4 

Utah ........................................................................ 66.0 67.1 1.1 65.8 – 68.5 

Wyoming ................................................................. 60.7 61.4 .7 59.9 – 63.0 

Pacific .......................................................................... 57.3 59.7 2.4 59.2 – 60.2 

Alaska ..................................................................... 60.6 62.6 2.0 61.1 – 64.2 

California ................................................................. 56.6 59.3 2.7 58.8 – 59.9 

Hawaii ..................................................................... 56.0 58.1 2.1 56.8 – 59.4 

Oregon .................................................................... 58.8 60.2 1.4 58.8 – 61.6 

Washington ............................................................. 59.9 61.4 1.5 60.2 – 62.7 

Puerto Rico ....................................................................... 39.2 40.8 1.6 

Region, division, and state Error range of ratio, 

2022 2

Over-the-year 

change

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

of age and over. 2 Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level and are based on unrounded data. NA = Data not available. NOTE: Data refer to place of residence. Employment-population ratios are based on unrounded levels. Data for subnational areas reflect revised population controls and model re-estimation. Data for Puerto Rico are 

derived from a monthly household survey similar to the Current 

Population Survey.
TEXAS

N.M.

CALIF.

MONT.

NEV.

ARIZ.

ORE.

S.D.

WYO.

COLO. KAN. MO.

N.D.

NEB.

UTAH

GA.

ILL.

MINN.

LA.

IDAHO

FLA.

PA.

WIS.

N.Y.

OKLA.

N.C.

KY.

ALA.

VA.

ARK.

WASH.

IOWA

MISS.

IND.

OHIO

S.C.

MICH.

TENN.

MAINE

W.VA.

VT. N.H.

-0.9 point or higher

-1.0 point to -1.4 points

-1.5 points to -1.9 points

-2.0 points to -2.4 points

-2.5 points or lower

MD.

DEL.

MASS.

N.J.

CONN. R.I.

D.C.

HAWAII

ALASKA

Pacific

Mountain West

North Central

East

North Central

New England

Middle

Atlantic

South

Atlantic

East

South Central

West

South Central

Map 1. Over-the-year change in unemployment rates by state,

2021-22 annual averages

(U.S. change = -1.7 percentage points)
TEXAS

N.M.

CALIF.

MONT.

NEV.

ARIZ.

ORE.

S.D.

WYO.

COLO. KAN. MO.

N.D.

NEB.

UTAH

GA.

ILL.

MINN.

LA.

IDAHO

FLA.

PA.

WIS.

N.Y.

OKLA.

N.C.

KY.

ALA.

VA.

ARK.

WASH.

IOWA

MISS.

IND.

OHIO

S.C.

MICH.

TENN.

MAINE

W.VA.

VT. N.H.

4.0% or higher

3.5% to 3.9%

3.0% to 3.4%

2.5% to 2.9%

2.4% or lower

MD.

DEL.

MASS.

N.J.

CONN. R.I.

D.C.

HAWAII

ALASKA

Pacific

Mountain West

North Central

East

North Central

New England

Middle

Atlantic

South

Atlantic

East

South Central

West

South Central

Map 2. Unemployment rates by state, 2022 annual averages

(U.S. rate = 3.6 percent)
TEXAS

N.M.

CALIF.

MONT.

NEV.

ARIZ.

ORE.

S.D.

WYO.

COLO. KAN. MO.

N.D.

NEB.

UTAH

GA.

ILL.

MINN.

LA.

IDAHO

FLA.

PA.

WIS.

N.Y.

OKLA.

N.C.

KY.

ALA.

VA.

ARK.

WASH.

IOWA

MISS.

IND.

OHIO

S.C.

MICH.

TENN.

MAINE

W.VA.

VT. N.H.

62.0% or higher

58.0% to 61.9%

57.9% or lower

MD.

DEL.

MASS.

N.J.

CONN. R.I.

D.C.

HAWAII

ALASKA

Pacific

Mountain West

North Central

East

North Central

New England

Middle

Atlantic

South

Atlantic

East

South Central

West

South Central

Map 3. Employment-population ratios by state,

2022 annual averages

(U.S. ratio = 60.0 percent)