Full text of 1996 Annual Averages : Text File, USDL 97-88
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For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
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STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 1996 ANNUAL AVERAGES
All four of the regions in the U.S. and seven of the nine divisions
experienced small declines in their unemployment rates from 1995 to 1996,
as the national rate edged down from 5.6 to 5.4 percent (annual averages),
the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported
today. The states were nearly equally divided between those in which
jobless rates rose over the year and those in which rates fell.
Unemployment rates were lower in 1996 than in the prior year in 24
states and the District of Columbia, higher in 21 states, and unchanged in
5 states. Only five states showed changes in either direction of 1.0
percentage point or more. Rhode Island reported the largest drop, 1.9
percentage points, while Alabama and Massachusetts recorded reductions of
1.2 and 1.1 points, respectively. Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan,
North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin all posted their lowest rates in over 20
years. (The length of the series varies by state. The series started in
1970 for 26 states and the District of Columbia, in 1973 for 2 states, and
in 1976 for 22 states.) Only two states had jobless rate increases of at
least a full percentage point, as New Mexico�s rate increased by 1.8 points
and Oregon�s rose by 1.1 points.
For the seventh consecutive year, Nebraska had the lowest annual average
unemployment rate, 2.9 percent. North Dakota and South Dakota were next at
3.1 and 3.2 percent, respectively. Iowa, Utah, and Wisconsin also posted
jobless rates below 4.0 percent. The District of Columbia recorded the
highest unemployment rate (8.5 percent), followed by New Mexico (8.1
percent). Three other states--Alaska, California, and West Virginia--had
rates of at least 7.0 percent. Thirty-two states registered unemployment
rates below the national average, whereas 16 states and the District of
Columbia had higher rates. This distribution has not changed much in
recent years, reflecting the higher-than-average unemployment rates
reported by many of the largest states.
The relative position of the regions and divisions in 1996 also was
little different from that of recent years. The Midwest maintained the
lowest unemployment rate (4.5 percent) for the sixth year in a row, while
the West reported the highest rate (6.5 percent) for the fifth straight
year. The jobless rate in the Northeast was just above the national
average, while the rate in the South was slightly below it. Among the
nation�s nine divisions, the West North Central division had the lowest
unemployment rate (4.0 percent), as it has for the last 7 years. For the
fifth consecutive year, the Pacific division, which is dominated by
California, posted the highest jobless rate (7.0 percent).
- 2 -
All estimates presented in this release, except those for Puerto Rico,
were derived from the Current Population Survey, a sample survey of about
50,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by
the Bureau of the Census. A description of the survey and information
about the reliability of the state estimates appear in "Geographic Profile
of Employment and Unemployment, 1995," Bulletin 2486.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.
Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and
state, 1995-96 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Population Civilian labor Employed Unemployed Unemployment
Region, division, force rate Error range
and state of rate,
1996(1)
1995 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996
United
States(2)........ 198,584 200,591 132,304 133,943 124,900 126,708 7,404 7,236 5.6 5.4 5.3 - 5.5
Northeast........... 39,687 39,750 25,418 25,690 23,898 24,246 1,519 1,444 6.0 5.6 5.4 - 5.8
New England....... 10,264 10,312 6,973 7,021 6,598 6,685 374 336 5.4 4.8 4.5 - 5.1
Connecticut..... 2,523 2,521 1,713 1,720 1,618 1,621 94 99 5.5 5.7 5.0 - 6.4
Maine........... 961 969 642 669 605 635 37 34 5.7 5.1 4.5 - 5.7
Massachusetts... 4,701 4,726 3,176 3,189 3,006 3,052 170 137 5.4 4.3 3.9 - 4.7
New Hampshire... 875 888 634 624 609 598 25 26 4.0 4.2 3.6 - 4.8
Rhode Island.... 756 755 488 496 454 470 34 25 7.0 5.1 4.4 - 5.8
Vermont......... 448 453 320 324 306 310 14 15 4.2 4.6 4.0 - 5.2
Middle Atlantic... 29,423 29,438 18,446 18,669 17,301 17,562 1,145 1,108 6.2 5.9 5.7 - 6.1
New Jersey...... 6,114 6,136 4,067 4,124 3,806 3,869 261 255 6.4 6.2 5.8 - 6.6
New York........ 14,026 14,014 8,537 8,639 7,996 8,100 541 540 6.3 6.2 5.9 - 6.5
Pennsylvania.... 9,283 9,288 5,842 5,903 5,499 5,590 343 313 5.9 5.3 4.9 - 5.7
Midwest............. 46,519 46,873 32,290 32,628 30,816 31,156 1,474 1,471 4.6 4.5 4.4 - 4.6
East North Central 32,788 33,010 22,353 22,538 21,270 21,474 1,083 1,064 4.8 4.7 4.5 - 4.9
Illinois........ 8,868 8,902 6,055 6,100 5,743 5,778 312 322 5.2 5.3 4.9 - 5.7
Indiana......... 4,400 4,440 3,131 3,072 2,985 2,945 146 127 4.7 4.1 3.6 - 4.6
Michigan........ 7,190 7,247 4,734 4,807 4,480 4,572 253 234 5.3 4.9 4.5 - 5.3
Ohio............ 8,465 8,515 5,583 5,643 5,317 5,365 266 278 4.8 4.9 4.5 - 5.3
Wisconsin....... 3,865 3,906 2,851 2,918 2,745 2,815 106 103 3.7 3.5 3.0 - 4.0
West North Central 13,731 13,863 9,939 10,090 9,548 9,683 392 407 3.9 4.0 3.8 - 4.2
Iowa............ 2,158 2,174 1,561 1,599 1,506 1,539 54 60 3.5 3.8 3.3 - 4.3
Kansas.......... 1,896 1,912 1,333 1,340 1,274 1,279 59 60 4.4 4.5 3.9 - 5.1
Minnesota....... 3,451 3,493 2,599 2,609 2,502 2,505 96 104 3.7 4.0 3.5 - 4.5
Missouri........ 4,002 4,037 2,828 2,898 2,692 2,765 135 132 4.8 4.6 4.0 - 5.2
Nebraska........ 1,217 1,231 900 913 876 886 24 27 2.6 2.9 2.5 - 3.3
North Dakota.... 474 477 336 343 325 333 11 11 3.3 3.1 2.6 - 3.6
South Dakota.... 533 539 384 390 373 377 11 13 2.9 3.2 2.7 - 3.7
South............... 69,566 70,561 45,865 46,495 43,367 44,061 2,497 2,434 5.4 5.2 5.1 - 5.3
South Atlantic.... 35,947 36,445 23,640 23,974 22,434 22,784 1,205 1,190 5.1 5.0 4.8 - 5.2
Delaware........ 549 558 383 382 366 363 17 20 4.3 5.2 4.6 - 5.8
District of
Columbia......... 436 428 285 272 260 249 25 23 8.9 8.5 7.7 - 9.3
Florida......... 11,038 11,196 6,849 6,938 6,473 6,586 376 352 5.5 5.1 4.8 - 5.4
Georgia......... 5,410 5,533 3,627 3,753 3,450 3,580 177 173 4.9 4.6 4.1 - 5.1
Maryland........ 3,846 3,870 2,721 2,786 2,582 2,650 139 136 5.1 4.9 4.3 - 5.5
North Carolina.. 5,451 5,544 3,639 3,796 3,482 3,631 158 165 4.3 4.3 3.9 - 4.7
South Carolina.. 2,787 2,825 1,858 1,848 1,764 1,737 94 111 5.1 6.0 5.3 - 6.7
Virginia........ 4,982 5,039 3,491 3,389 3,333 3,240 157 149 4.5 4.4 3.9 - 4.9
West Virginia... 1,448 1,452 787 808 725 747 62 61 7.9 7.5 6.8 - 8.2
East South Central 12,248 12,403 7,888 7,969 7,440 7,537 448 431 5.7 5.4 5.1 - 5.7
Alabama......... 3,253 3,285 2,060 2,088 1,930 1,981 129 107 6.3 5.1 4.5 - 5.7
Kentucky........ 2,954 2,987 1,861 1,867 1,760 1,762 100 105 5.4 5.6 5.0 - 6.2
Mississippi..... 2,000 2,025 1,260 1,262 1,182 1,185 77 77 6.1 6.1 5.4 - 6.8
Tennessee....... 4,041 4,106 2,707 2,751 2,567 2,609 140 142 5.2 5.2 4.6 - 5.8
West South Central 21,371 21,713 14,338 14,554 13,493 13,741 846 814 5.9 5.6 5.3 - 5.9
Arkansas........ 1,886 1,907 1,222 1,234 1,163 1,168 59 67 4.9 5.4 4.8 - 6.0
Louisiana....... 3,196 3,217 1,956 1,997 1,822 1,863 135 135 6.9 6.7 6.0 - 7.4
Oklahoma........ 2,445 2,469 1,548 1,577 1,475 1,513 73 64 4.7 4.1 3.6 - 4.6
Texas........... 13,844 14,120 9,613 9,748 9,034 9,200 579 549 6.0 5.6 5.3 - 5.9
West................ 43,129 43,860 28,943 29,430 27,017 27,525 1,926 1,905 6.7 6.5 6.3 - 6.7
Mountain.......... 11,736 12,095 8,167 8,321 7,769 7,895 398 426 4.9 5.1 4.9 - 5.3
Arizona......... 3,254 3,385 2,207 2,249 2,095 2,125 112 124 5.1 5.5 4.9 - 6.1
Colorado........ 2,835 2,905 2,091 2,102 2,004 2,013 88 89 4.2 4.2 3.7 - 4.7
Idaho........... 858 880 601 619 569 587 32 32 5.4 5.2 4.6 - 5.8
Montana......... 660 671 438 447 412 423 26 24 5.9 5.3 4.7 - 5.9
Nevada.......... 1,167 1,221 804 844 761 798 43 46 5.4 5.4 4.8 - 6.0
New Mexico...... 1,247 1,270 792 800 743 735 50 64 6.3 8.1 7.3 - 8.9
Utah............ 1,357 1,400 974 998 940 964 35 35 3.6 3.5 3.0 - 4.0
Wyoming......... 358 363 256 258 244 245 12 13 4.8 5.0 4.4 - 5.6
Pacific........... 31,393 31,765 20,781 21,111 19,254 19,634 1,527 1,478 7.3 7.0 6.8 - 7.2
Alaska.......... 418 426 304 316 282 291 22 25 7.3 7.8 7.1 - 8.5
California...... 23,562 23,797 15,427 15,596 14,217 14,470 1,211 1,126 7.8 7.2 6.9 - 7.5
Hawaii.......... 858 865 577 591 543 553 34 38 5.9 6.4 5.7 - 7.1
Oregon.......... 2,437 2,484 1,656 1,721 1,576 1,619 80 102 4.8 5.9 5.2 - 6.6
Washington...... 4,118 4,193 2,817 2,887 2,637 2,699 179 188 6.4 6.5 5.8 - 7.2
Puerto Rico(3)...... 2,670 2,696 1,245 1,284 1,074 1,112 170 172 13.7 13.4 (4)
1 Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level.
2 Because of separate processing and weighting procedures, totals for the United States differ from the results obtained
by aggregating the data for regions, divisions, or states. Moreover, due to independent population adjustments, data for
geographic components may not add to totals for larger geographic areas.
3 The source of these data is the Employment Security Agency of Puerto Rico.
4 Not available.
NOTE: Sub-national data incorporate updated 1990 census-based population controls, adjusted for the estimated
undercount. Historical data have been revised.