Between January 2008 and February 2008, employment increased in 23 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 27 states. California recorded the largest over-the-month increase in employment (+25,800), followed by Texas (+13,500), Washington (+7,400), Virginia (+4,700), and Maryland (+4,300). New Mexico and Wyoming experienced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+0.4 percent each), followed by the District of Columbia, Montana, and West Virginia (+0.3 percent each) and Alaska, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington (+0.2 percent each). The largest over-the-month decreases in employment occurred in Florida (-13,600), South Carolina (-11,800), Ohio (-11,600), Indiana (-9,600), Illinois (-8,300), and Pennsylvania (-8,000). South Carolina experienced the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment (-0.6 percent), followed by Idaho (-0.4 percent), Hawaii, Indiana, and Maine (-0.3 percent each), and Florida, Ohio, Rhode Island, and South Dakota (-0.2 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 43 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 7 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in Wyoming (+3.1 percent), Texas and Utah (+2.3 percent each), Washington (+2.1 percent), and Colorado (+2.0 percent). Rhode Island recorded the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-1.6 percent), followed by Michigan (-1.5 percent), Florida and Wisconsin (-0.3 percent each), and Nevada (-0.2 percent).
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In February, the Midwest continued to record the highest unemployment rate among the regions, 5.2 percent, followed by the West at 5.0 percent. The South again reported the lowest rate, 4.5 percent. No region had a statistically significant rate change from January, though three regions registered significant jobless rate increases from February 2007: the West(+0.5 percentage point),Northeast (+0.4 point), and South (+0.2 point).
Among the nine geographic divisions, the East North Central reported the highest jobless rate in February, 5.6 percent, followed closely by the Pacific at 5.5 percent. The Mountain and West South Central divisions recorded the lowest rates, 4.0 percent each. The West South Central rate was the lowest in its series. (All region, division, and state series begin in 1976.) The West South Central also registered the only statistically significant jobless rate change from a month earlier (-0.3 percentage point). Four divisions posted significant over-the-year un-
employment rate increases: the Pacific (+0.6 percentage point), Mountain and South Atlantic (+0.5 point each), and Middle Atlantic (+0.4 point). The West South Central had the only significant over-the-year rate decrease (-0.4 percentage point).
State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In February, Michigan continued to report the highest jobless rate, 7.2 percent. Alaska, at 6.6 percent, was the only other state to register a rate of 6.0 percent or higher. South Dakota again recorded the lowest rate, 2.6 percent, followed by Wyoming at 2.7 percent, and Idaho and Nebraska at 2.8 percent each. Texas posted the lowest jobless rate in its series, 4.1 percent. Overall, 20 states reported unemployment rates that were significantly below the U.S. rate of 4.8 percent, 5 states and the District of Columbia recorded measurably higher rates, and 25 states had rates that were statistically little different from that of the nation.
Five states reported statistically significant over-the-month jobless rate decreases in February: Arkansas, Oklahoma, and South Carolina (-0.6 percentage point each); New York (-0.5 point); and Texas (-0.2 point). Tennessee registered the only significant rate increase from the prior month (+0.4 percentage point). The remaining 44 states and the District of Columbia recorded February unemployment rates that
were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, even though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
Georgia and Nevada reported the largest jobless rate increases from February 2007 (+1.0 percentage point each). Seventeen additional states had smaller, yet also statistically significant, rate increases. Seven states registered significant over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, the largest of which occurred in Oklahoma (-1.2 percentage points). The remaining 24 states and the District of Columbia recorded jobless rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier.
Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)
Between January 2008 and February 2008, only one state experienced statistically significant changes in employment. The statistically significant decrease in employment occurred in South Carolina (-11,800).
Over the year, 14 states recorded statistically significant changes in employment. The largest statistically significant employment gains were reported in Texas (+235,000), New York (+75,600), North Carolina (+63,500), Washington (+60,000), Colorado (+46,000),and Georgia (+44,700). The only statistically significant over-the-year employment decline was reported in Michigan (-62,900). Three states reported statistically significant over-the-year employment increases that were less than 15,000: Nebraska (+13,800), Wyoming (+8,700), and North Dakota (+6,600).
