Press Releases

News from EPI March weather likely at play in state jobs report

The State and Regional Employment report for March, released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows continued job gains in most states, with 10 states experiencing job losses. Unemployment rates held steady in a majority of states.

“We do see job losses in the construction industry over the last month, with the construction industry in the Mid-Atlantic driving that estimate. Harsh weather in March is likely behind this hiccup in recent trends,” said EPI research assistant Jessica Schieder.

From December to March, 48 states and the District of Columbia added jobs, with Utah (1.1 percent), Nevada (1.0 percent), Alaska (0.9 percent), Delaware (0.9 percent), and Texas (0.9 percent) making the largest percentage gains. Over that same period, employment fell in most in Montana (-0.4 percent).

During the same time period, unemployment rates fell in 25 states and the District of Columbia. Kentucky (-0.5 percentage points), Ohio (-0.5 percentage points), Maine (-0.4 percentage points), New Mexico (0.4 percentage points), and the District of Columbia (-0.3 percentage points) saw the largest declines in unemployment rates. Over the same months, the unemployment rate increased in seven states. Arizona, Maryland, and South Carolina each saw increases of 0.2 percentage points, while Alaska, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Washington each saw increases of 0.1 percentage points. In 18 states, there was no change in the unemployment rate.

March

Current state unemployment rate and percent change in total number of jobs over last 12 months

State Current unemployment rate Change in unemployment rate in last 3 months Change in unemployment rate in last 12 months Change in unemployment rate since February 2020 State unemployment rate raking from lowest to highest Percent change in number of jobs in last 12 months Change in number of jobs in last 12 months Percent change in numbers of jobs in last 3 months Change in number of jobs in last 3 months Percent change in number of jobs since February 2020 Change in number of jobs since February 2020
Alabama 2.1% -0.1% -0.5% -1.3% 7 2.0% 42500 0.7% 14300 3.5% 72800
Alaska 3.8% 0.1% 0.0% -1.4% 43 1.6% 5200 -0.1% -400 -1.5% -4800
Arizona 3.6% 0.2% -0.3% -1.4% 41 1.8% 56600 0.1% 3700 5.4% 162300
Arkansas 2.6% -0.2% -0.7% -1.0% 14 1.8% 24300 0.6% 8200 5.3% 68800
California 4.6% 0.1% 0.8% 0.5% 49 2.0% 363600 0.4% 76000 2.4% 424200
Colorado 2.9% 0.1% 0.2% 0.1% 23 1.4% 38800 0.4% 11200 3.1% 88200
Connecticut 3.6% -0.2% -0.4% 0.2% 40 1.3% 21400 0.3% 5700 -0.4% -6800
Delaware 4.1% -0.2% -0.3% 0.4% 48 2.4% 11200 -0.1% -400 3.0% 14200
Washington D.C. 5.0% 0.0% 0.9% -0.4% 50 0.9% 6600 0.3% 2200 -3.8% -30400
Florida 2.7% 0.1% 0.0% 0.0% 19 3.2% 300600 0.6% 63000 7.7% 696100
Georgia 3.2% 0.1% 0.2% -0.4% 29 1.8% 88300 0.3% 14400 5.2% 241900
Hawaii 2.8% -0.5% -0.7% 0.6% 22 2.0% 12700 0.8% 4900 -4.1% -27500
Idaho 2.8% 0.2% 0.1% -0.2% 21 2.8% 23600 0.8% 6800 10.2% 78800
Illinois 4.0% -0.2% -0.4% 0.2% 46 1.5% 89700 0.4% 26300 0.1% 8900
Indiana 3.3% 0.3% 0.3% -0.1% 32 1.8% 57500 0.3% 10500 3.1% 98900
Iowa 2.7% 0.0% -0.1% 0.1% 18 0.9% 14400 -0.7% -11200 -0.3% -5100
Kansas 2.7% -0.2% 0.0% -0.4% 17 1.6% 23100 0.2% 2600 1.1% 16200
Kentucky 3.8% 0.1% -0.1% -0.3% 42 2.6% 50200 0.5% 10400 2.8% 54100
Louisiana 3.4% -0.2% -0.1% -1.8% 35 1.6% 30200 -0.1% -1400 -1.8% -36400
Maine 2.4% 0.0% -0.3% -0.4% 9 0.5% 3200 -0.4% -2500 0.5% 3100
Maryland 1.8% -0.7% -1.4% -2.4% 3 0.8% 21100 0.2% 5800 -1.4% -39500
Massachusetts 2.5% -0.6% -1.2% -0.4% 12 2.4% 90300 0.6% 21200 1.1% 41100
Michigan 3.6% -0.2% -0.5% -0.2% 39 1.4% 63100 0.3% 13600 -0.3% -13500
Minnesota 3.0% 0.2% 0.4% -0.9% 26 1.4% 41200 0.1% 3600 -0.4% -12900
Mississippi 3.0% -0.4% -0.8% -2.7% 25 0.3% 3200 -0.4% -5000 0.9% 11000
Missouri 2.7% 0.2% 0.5% -0.6% 16 2.0% 58900 0.9% 27200 2.6% 75800
Montana 2.5% 0.2% -0.2% -1.2% 11 0.5% 2700 -0.4% -2300 5.2% 25400
Nebraska 2.0% 0.0% -0.4% -1.0% 6 2.0% 20100 0.3% 3600 1.3% 13800
Nevada 5.3% -0.1% 0.0% 1.3% 51 3.8% 56500 0.7% 10600 6.9% 100400
New Hampshire 1.7% -0.4% -0.8% -1.0% 1 1.5% 10400 -0.2% -1300 1.2% 8600
New Jersey 3.9% 0.4% 0.7% 0.4% 45 1.7% 73300 0.2% 9100 2.5% 106700
New Mexico 3.6% 0.1% 0.0% -1.8% 38 2.6% 21700 0.6% 5100 1.0% 8900
New York 3.9% -0.1% -0.1% 0.0% 44 1.3% 124900 0.4% 35600 -1.4% -142100
North Carolina 3.3% -0.1% -0.4% -0.4% 31 2.2% 108000 0.7% 33300 6.7% 308000
North Dakota 2.0% -0.1% 0.0% -0.2% 5 2.0% 8800 1.0% 4500 -0.5% -2300
Ohio 3.3% -0.4% -0.7% -1.3% 30 1.6% 89200 0.6% 31200 0.5% 25400
Oklahoma 2.7% -0.2% -0.4% -0.5% 15 1.7% 28400 0.4% 6700 1.7% 29800
Oregon 3.4% -0.6% -0.7% 0.0% 34 2.6% 49900 0.8% 16700 1.7% 33300
Pennsylvania 3.5% -0.6% -0.8% -1.5% 36 2.4% 143100 0.6% 34400 0.9% 53300
Rhode Island 2.8% -0.2% -0.4% -0.9% 20 -1.1% -5600 -0.4% -1900 -2.8% -14200
South Carolina 3.1% 0.0% -0.1% 0.2% 28 2.3% 52900 0.6% 14300 4.9% 108500
South Dakota 1.9% 0.0% -0.2% -0.7% 4 1.6% 7400 -0.1% -300 4.0% 17600
Tennessee 3.1% -0.2% -0.2% -0.5% 27 2.2% 72400 0.6% 19600 5.6% 175200
Texas 4.1% 0.1% 0.3% 0.6% 47 3.3% 441700 0.7% 101400 7.7% 1002900
Utah 2.4% 0.1% 0.1% -0.2% 8 2.4% 40700 0.3% 4900 9.6% 151000
Vermont 1.8% -0.6% -0.7% -0.8% 2 0.7% 2100 -0.4% -1300 -2.4% -7500
Virginia 2.5% -0.6% -0.1% -0.2% 10 1.6% 64400 0.2% 7100 1.3% 54400
Washington 3.6% -0.7% -0.5% -0.3% 37 2.6% 92500 0.3% 11400 3.3% 117800
West Virginia 3.4% 0.1% -0.6% -1.7% 33 1.0% 6800 0.3% 2100 -2.8% -20200
Wisconsin 2.6% 0.2% -0.4% -0.4% 13 1.3% 39500 0.2% 5300 0.4% 11300
Wyoming 3.0% -0.5% -0.5% -1.9% 24 2.2% 6200 0.8% 2200 0.5% 1400

Jobs refers to the total number of jobs, part-time or full-time, in nonfarm establishments.

Source: EPI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics' Local Area Unemployment Statistics data.

Copy the code below to embed this chart on your website.