Full text of 1997 Annual Averages : Text File, USDL 98-78
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Technical information: (202) 606-6392 USDL 98-78
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact: 606-5902 Friday, February 27, 1998
STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 1997 ANNUAL AVERAGES
As the national unemployment rate decreased from 5.4 percent in 1996 to
4.9 percent in 1997, rates also fell in three-fourths of the states, the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.
All four of the nation�s regions and eight of the nine divisions
experienced jobless rate declines on an annual average basis as well.
Unemployment rates were lower in 1997 than in the prior year in 37
states and the District of Columbia, higher in 10 states, and unchanged in
3 states. Seven states recorded decreases of a full percentage point or
more: New Mexico (-1.9 percentage points), Washington (-1.7 points), South
Carolina (-1.5 points), Nevada (-1.3 points), Delaware (-1.2 points),
and New Hampshire and New Jersey (-1.1 points each). No state
experienced a rate increase of more than 0.3 point. Twelve
states--Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, Utah, and Washington--posted their
lowest annual average rates. (The length of the annual series varies by
state and ranges from 22 to 28 years.)
North Dakota and Nebraska recorded the lowest unemployment rates for
1997, 2.5 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively. New Hampshire, South
Dakota, and Utah were next, all at 3.1 percent. Three additional states
had jobless rates below 3.5 percent. Alaska and the District of Columbia
posted the highest rates for 1997 (both 7.9 percent), followed by West
Virginia (6.9 percent). Twenty-seven states registered unemployment rates
below the national average, while 23 states and the District of Columbia
had higher rates.
At the region and division level, the spread between high and low
unemployment rates narrowed in 1997. The Midwest region maintained the
lowest jobless rate (4.0 percent) for the seventh year in a row. The West
reported the highest rate (5.6 percent) for the sixth straight year,
although it experienced the largest regional decline (-0.9 percentage
point). Both the Midwest and South reported their lowest annual rates
since the beginning of the series (1978), and the Northeast and West
achieved their lowest rates since 1989 and 1990, respectively. Among the
nation�s nine divisions, the West North Central division had the lowest
unemployment rate (3.5 percent), as it has for the last 8 years. For the
sixth consecutive year, the Pacific division posted the highest jobless
rate (6.1 percent), though it also registered the largest of the eight
divisional rate decreases (-0.9 percentage point). Only the East South
Central division, where the rate was unchanged from 1996, failed to record
a drop in joblessness. Four divisions--the East North Central, West North
Central, South Atlantic, and Mountain--reported annual lows in their
series.
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. Region and division levels are obtained by
summing the estimates for component states and then calculating the
- 2 -
unemployment rates. 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, 1996-97 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)
Population Civilian labor Employed Unemployed Unemployment
Region, division, force rate Error range
and state of rate,
1997(1)
1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997 1996 1997
United
States(2)........ 200,591 203,133 133,943 136,297 126,708 129,558 7,236 6,739 5.4 4.9 4.8 - 5.0
Northeast........... 39,685 39,751 25,648 26,102 24,206 24,697 1,442 1,405 5.6 5.4 5.2 - 5.6
New England....... 10,286 10,328 7,004 7,118 6,668 6,804 336 314 4.8 4.4 4.1 - 4.7
Connecticut..... 2,523 2,523 1,721 1,723 1,622 1,635 99 88 5.7 5.1 4.4 - 5.8
Maine........... 966 972 667 659 633 623 34 36 5.1 5.4 4.7 - 6.1
Massachusetts... 4,704 4,726 3,174 3,260 3,038 3,129 137 131 4.3 4.0 3.6 - 4.4
New Hampshire... 887 898 623 645 597 625 26 20 4.2 3.1 2.6 - 3.6
Rhode Island.... 754 754 495 505 470 478 25 27 5.1 5.3 4.6 - 6.0
Vermont......... 452 455 324 326 309 313 15 13 4.6 4.0 3.4 - 4.6
Middle Atlantic... 29,399 29,423 18,644 18,984 17,537 17,894 1,106 1,091 5.9 5.7 5.5 - 5.9
New Jersey...... 6,149 6,191 4,133 4,194 3,877 3,978 256 215 6.2 5.1 4.7 - 5.5
New York........ 13,961 13,949 8,607 8,807 8,069 8,243 537 564 6.2 6.4 6.1 - 6.7
Pennsylvania.... 9,289 9,283 5,904 5,984 5,591 5,673 313 311 5.3 5.2 4.8 - 5.6
Midwest............. 47,016 47,305 32,724 32,950 31,248 31,618 1,476 1,332 4.5 4.0 3.9 - 4.1
East North Central 33,147 33,336 22,629 22,848 21,560 21,871 1,069 977 4.7 4.3 4.1 - 4.5
Illinois........ 8,907 8,943 6,104 6,130 5,781 5,841 322 288 5.3 4.7 4.4 - 5.0
Indiana......... 4,433 4,467 3,067 3,094 2,941 2,985 126 109 4.1 3.5 3.0 - 4.0
Michigan........ 7,402 7,464 4,909 4,986 4,670 4,776 239 210 4.9 4.2 3.9 - 4.5
Ohio............ 8,512 8,544 5,641 5,710 5,363 5,448 278 262 4.9 4.6 4.3 - 4.9
Wisconsin....... 3,893 3,918 2,908 2,928 2,805 2,821 103 108 3.5 3.7 3.2 - 4.2
West North Central 13,869 13,969 10,094 10,102 9,688 9,747 407 355 4.0 3.5 3.3 - 3.7
Iowa............ 2,166 2,170 1,593 1,577 1,533 1,526 60 51 3.8 3.3 2.8 - 3.8
Kansas.......... 1,921 1,938 1,346 1,366 1,285 1,315 61 52 4.5 3.8 3.3 - 4.3
Minnesota....... 3,489 3,523 2,606 2,625 2,502 2,539 104 86 4.0 3.3 2.8 - 3.8
Missouri........ 4,042 4,073 2,901 2,888 2,769 2,765 133 122 4.6 4.2 3.7 - 4.7
Nebraska........ 1,228 1,236 911 906 884 883 27 24 2.9 2.6 2.2 - 3.0
North Dakota.... 478 479 344 348 334 339 11 9 3.1 2.5 2.1 - 2.9
South Dakota.... 545 550 394 393 381 381 13 12 3.2 3.1 2.6 - 3.6
South............... 70,506 71,523 46,458 47,198 44,025 44,872 2,433 2,326 5.2 4.9 4.8 - 5.0
South Atlantic.... 36,434 36,957 23,965 24,406 22,775 23,298 1,189 1,108 5.0 4.5 4.3 - 4.7
Delaware........ 556 564 381 380 361 364 20 15 5.2 4.0 3.4 - 4.6
District of
Columbia......... 425 416 270 257 247 237 23 20 8.5 7.9 7.1 - 8.7
Florida......... 11,222 11,404 6,954 7,106 6,601 6,768 353 338 5.1 4.8 4.5 - 5.1
Georgia......... 5,515 5,637 3,741 3,907 3,568 3,730 172 177 4.6 4.5 4.0 - 5.0
Maryland........ 3,877 3,913 2,791 2,789 2,655 2,648 136 142 4.9 5.1 4.5 - 5.7
North Carolina.. 5,527 5,605 3,785 3,844 3,620 3,705 164 139 4.3 3.6 3.2 - 4.0
South Carolina.. 2,830 2,870 1,851 1,913 1,740 1,826 111 86 6.0 4.5 3.9 - 5.1
Virginia........ 5,033 5,097 3,385 3,405 3,236 3,271 149 135 4.4 4.0 3.5 - 4.5
West Virginia... 1,449 1,451 806 805 745 749 60 55 7.5 6.9 6.2 - 7.6
East South Central 12,404 12,558 7,968 8,076 7,537 7,643 431 433 5.4 5.4 5.1 - 5.7
Alabama......... 3,299 3,338 2,097 2,174 1,989 2,064 108 110 5.1 5.1 4.5 - 5.7
Kentucky........ 2,988 3,019 1,868 1,928 1,763 1,824 105 104 5.6 5.4 4.8 - 6.0
Mississippi..... 2,019 2,042 1,259 1,265 1,181 1,193 77 73 6.1 5.7 5.1 - 6.3
Tennessee....... 4,098 4,159 2,745 2,708 2,604 2,562 141 146 5.2 5.4 4.8 - 6.0
West South Central 21,668 22,008 14,525 14,716 13,713 13,931 812 785 5.6 5.3 5.1 - 5.5
Arkansas........ 1,903 1,918 1,232 1,211 1,165 1,147 66 64 5.4 5.3 4.7 - 5.9
Louisiana....... 3,225 3,259 2,002 2,024 1,867 1,900 135 124 6.7 6.1 5.4 - 6.8
Oklahoma........ 2,469 2,492 1,577 1,600 1,513 1,534 64 66 4.1 4.1 3.6 - 4.6
Texas........... 14,071 14,339 9,715 9,881 9,168 9,350 547 531 5.6 5.4 5.1 - 5.7
West................ 43,736 44,500 29,346 30,005 27,446 28,331 1,899 1,674 6.5 5.6 5.4 - 5.8
Mountain.......... 12,030 12,308 8,274 8,406 7,850 8,044 424 362 5.1 4.3 4.1 - 4.5
Arizona......... 3,318 3,396 2,205 2,165 2,083 2,065 121 101 5.5 4.6 4.0 - 5.2
Colorado........ 2,901 2,964 2,099 2,158 2,010 2,088 89 70 4.2 3.3 2.8 - 3.8
Idaho........... 879 898 619 634 586 600 32 34 5.2 5.3 4.7 - 5.9
Montana......... 670 675 446 454 422 430 23 24 5.3 5.4 4.8 - 6.0
Nevada.......... 1,216 1,271 841 883 795 847 45 36 5.4 4.1 3.6 - 4.6
New Mexico...... 1,271 1,291 800 820 736 769 64 51 8.1 6.2 5.5 - 6.9
Utah............ 1,414 1,450 1,008 1,040 973 1,008 35 32 3.5 3.1 2.6 - 3.6
Wyoming......... 361 363 256 251 243 238 13 13 5.0 5.1 4.5 - 5.7
Pacific........... 31,706 32,192 21,072 21,600 19,596 20,287 1,475 1,312 7.0 6.1 5.9 - 6.3
Alaska.......... 422 426 313 316 289 291 24 25 7.8 7.9 7.1 - 8.7
California...... 23,755 24,110 15,569 15,972 14,444 14,965 1,124 1,006 7.2 6.3 6.0 - 6.6
Hawaii.......... 864 873 590 592 553 554 38 38 6.4 6.4 5.7 - 7.1
Oregon.......... 2,482 2,525 1,720 1,732 1,618 1,631 102 101 5.9 5.8 5.2 - 6.4
Washington...... 4,183 4,258 2,880 2,988 2,693 2,846 187 142 6.5 4.8 4.2 - 5.4
Puerto Rico(3)...... 2,696 2,722 1,284 1,308 1,112 1,132 172 176 13.4 13.5 (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.
3 The source of these data is the Employment Security Agency of Puerto Rico.
4 Not available.
NOTE: Region and division data are derived from summing the component states. Sub-national data incorporate updated
1990 census-based population controls. Historical data have been revised.