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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 01-50 Media contact: 691-5902 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Friday, February 23, 2001 STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 2000 ANNUAL AVERAGES Unemployment rates decreased in 33 states and the District of Columbia from 1999 to 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Three of the four regions and seven of the nine geographic divisions recorded rate declines in annual average unemployment. The U.S. jobless rate decreased from 4.2 percent to 4.0 percent over the year. Additionally, employment to population ratios increased in a majority of states, with the national ratio increasing to a record high of 64.5 percent. State Unemployment As the national unemployment rate reached its lowest point in 31 years, 14 states had the lowest annual average rates in their series. (All state series date back to at least 1976.) The 14 included 4 states in the Mountain division, 3 each in New England and the South Atlantic, and 2 in the East North Central. Compared with 1999, annual average jobless rates in 2000 were lower in 33 states and the District of Columbia, higher in 16 states, and unchanged in 1 state. (See table 1 and chart 1.) The states posting the largest rate declines were Hawaii (-1.3 percentage points), West Virginia (-1.1 points), and Wyoming (-1.0 point). Twelve additional states plus the District of Columbia recorded decreases of at least 0.5 percentage point. Eight large states--California, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia--registered annual declines for at least each of the last seven years. The largest rate increases occurred in Kansas (0.7 percentage point) and Mississippi (0.6 point). Four other states had increases of 0.5 percentage point each. Virginia reported the lowest annual average unemployment rate for 2000, 2.2 percent, followed closely by Connecticut and South Dakota, both 2.3 percent. Five other states--three of them in New England--had rates below 3.0 percent in 2000. Alaska recorded the highest jobless rate, 6.6 percent, followed by Mississippi, 5.7 percent. The District of Columbia's rate was 5.8 percent. Overall, 28 states had unemployment rates below the national average, while 21 states and the District of Columbia posted higher rates. (See chart 2.) All seven states in the West North Central division and five of the six states in New England had rates below the U.S. average, while all five states in the Pacific division recorded rates above it. Regional Unemployment The Northeast region had the largest rate decline from 1999 (-0.5 percentage point), while the South and West posted smaller decreases. These three regions all had the lowest annual average rates in their series. (Regional series date back to 1976.) For the 10th year in a row, the Midwest had the lowest regional jobless rate (3.7 percent), although it edged up over last year's rate. The West registered the highest unemployment rate (4.6 percent) for the eighth consecutive year, although four states in the region reported rates below 4.0 percent. The range between the high and low regional unemployment rates narrowed to less than a full percentage point for the first time since 1991. - 2 Among the nation's nine geographic divisions, the two divisions in the Northeast region--the Middle Atlantic and New England--reported the largest rate declines from the previous year, -0.5 percentage point each. The Mountain division in the West region posted the next largest decrease, -0.4 point. The two Midwest divisions--the East North Central and West North Central--recorded small rate increases. Unemployment rates in the seven divisions that recorded over-the-year declines reached new annual lows. In 2000, New England replaced the West North Central as the division with the lowest unemployment rate (2.8 percent) after the latter division had recorded the lowest rate for 10 years. For the ninth consecutive year, the Pacific division had the highest jobless rate (5.0 percent), but its annual rate continued to decline in 2000 for the seventh year in a row. Employment-population Ratios Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia experienced rises in their employment-population ratios--the proportion of the civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over with a job--in 2000, while 19 states had declines. The national employment-population ratio edged up 0.2 percentage point from 1999 to a record high 64.5 percent annual average in 2000. The greatest over-the-year gains were reported in Delaware (2.1 percentage points) and Mississippi (2.0 percentage points), with an additional nine states recording increases of at least a full percentage point. The largest decrease occurred in Kansas (-2.1 percentage points), with four other states showing declines of more than 1.0 percentage point. Minnesota once again registered the highest annual average employment- population ratio, 72.6 percent, despite a 0.4-percentage point drop from 1999. West Virginia continued to have the lowest ratio among the states, 53.9 percent, even after a 1.2-percentage point increase over 1999. Overall, 31 states had employment-population ratios above the U.S. average, while 19 states and the District of Columbia had lower ratios. (See table 2 and chart 3.) All four regions experienced small gains in their annual average employment-population ratios over 1999, ranging from 0.4 percentage point in the West to 0.1 point in the Midwest. Regional ratios were above the national average in the Midwest (67.4 percent) and West (64.7 percent) and below average in the South (63.4 percent) and Northeast (62.8 percent). Among geographic divisions, the South Atlantic and Pacific saw the largest ratio increases, 0.5 percentage point each, relative to 1999. The West South Central and Mountain were the only two divisions to record declines in their ratios over the year (-0.4 and -0.1 percentage point, respectively). Ratios among the seven states of the West North Central division were above that of the U.S., while ratios among all three states of the Middle Atlantic and all four states of the East South Central were below that of the U.S. 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 U.S. Census Bureau. A description of the survey and information about the reliability of the state estimates appear in Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 1998, Bulletin 2524. The length of the annual series varies by state and ranges from 25 to 31 years. The region and division annual series begin in 1976. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 1999-2000 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Population Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Unemployment rate Region, division, and state United States(2).... 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 1999 2000 207,753 209,699 139,368 140,863 133,488 135,208 5,880 5,655 4.2 4.0 Error range of rate, 2000(1) 3.9 - 4.1 Northeast..................... New England................ Connecticut............. Maine................... Massachusetts........... New Hampshire........... Rhode Island............ Vermont................. 40,105 10,439 2,530 987 4,781 924 751 466 40,247 10,502 2,537 998 4,804 939 753 471 26,234 7,171 1,708 670 3,284 668 504 336 26,295 7,194 1,746 689 3,237 686 505 332 25,083 6,935 1,654 642 3,179 650 484 326 25,281 6,995 1,707 665 3,151 666 484 322 1,151 236 54 27 105 18 21 10 1,014 199 39 24 86 19 21 10 4.4 3.3 3.2 4.1 3.2 2.7 4.1 3.0 3.9 2.8 2.3 3.5 2.6 2.8 4.1 2.9 3.8 2.6 1.8 3.0 2.3 2.3 3.5 2.4 - 4.0 3.0 2.8 4.0 2.9 3.3 4.7 3.4 Middle Atlantic............ New Jersey.............. New York................ Pennsylvania............ 29,666 6,264 14,120 9,282 29,745 6,292 14,163 9,290 19,063 4,205 8,882 5,976 19,101 4,188 8,941 5,972 18,148 4,012 8,423 5,713 18,286 4,030 8,533 5,722 915 193 459 263 815 157 408 250 4.8 4.6 5.2 4.4 4.3 3.8 4.6 4.2 4.1 3.5 4.3 3.9 - 4.5 4.1 4.9 4.5 Midwest....................... East North Central......... Illinois................ Indiana................. Michigan................ Ohio.................... Wisconsin............... 47,946 33,764 9,155 4,504 7,505 8,605 3,995 48,222 33,931 9,199 4,529 7,548 8,624 4,031 33,442 23,242 6,378 3,076 5,144 5,754 2,890 33,729 23,422 6,419 3,084 5,201 5,783 2,935 32,244 22,348 6,105 2,983 4,950 5,508 2,802 32,493 22,517 6,140 2,984 5,016 5,546 2,831 1,198 894 273 93 194 246 88 1,236 905 279 100 185 237 104 3.6 3.8 4.3 3.0 3.8 4.3 3.0 3.7 3.9 4.4 3.2 3.6 4.1 3.5 3.6 3.7 4.1 2.7 3.3 3.8 3.0 - 3.8 4.1 4.7 3.7 3.9 4.4 4.0 West North Central......... Iowa.................... Kansas.................. Minnesota............... Missouri................ Nebraska................ North Dakota............ South Dakota............ 14,182 2,187 1,988 3,600 4,135 1,248 478 546 14,291 2,193 2,001 3,648 4,166 1,254 477 552 10,200 1,573 1,434 2,703 2,841 912 337 400 10,307 1,563 1,411 2,739 2,930 924 339 401 9,896 1,533 1,392 2,627 2,745 886 325 388 9,976 1,522 1,359 2,649 2,828 897 329 392 303 40 43 76 96 26 11 12 331 41 52 90 101 28 10 9 3.0 2.5 3.0 2.8 3.4 2.9 3.4 2.9 3.2 2.6 3.7 3.3 3.5 3.0 3.0 2.3 3.0 2.2 3.2 2.8 3.0 2.5 2.5 1.9 - 3.4 3.0 4.2 3.8 4.0 3.5 3.5 2.7 South......................... South Atlantic............. Delaware................ District of Columbia............... Florida................. Georgia................. Maryland................ North Carolina.......... South Carolina.......... Virginia................ West Virginia........... 73,427 38,033 581 74,337 38,528 588 48,406 25,060 390 49,035 25,534 409 46,412 24,123 376 47,104 24,624 393 1,994 937 14 1,931 910 16 4.1 3.7 3.5 3.9 3.6 4.0 3.8 3.4 3.4 - 4.0 3.8 4.6 415 11,783 5,859 3,975 5,755 2,992 5,226 1,447 413 11,960 5,967 4,015 5,809 3,032 5,299 1,445 281 7,361 4,078 2,775 3,868 1,963 3,528 816 279 7,490 4,173 2,805 3,958 1,985 3,610 825 263 7,077 3,916 2,676 3,746 1,875 3,430 763 263 7,221 4,019 2,697 3,814 1,909 3,530 779 18 284 162 98 122 88 98 54 16 269 154 108 144 77 80 46 6.3 3.9 4.0 3.5 3.2 4.5 2.8 6.6 5.8 3.6 3.7 3.9 3.6 3.9 2.2 5.5 5.1 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.2 3.4 1.8 4.9 - 6.5 3.9 4.1 4.4 4.0 4.4 2.6 6.1 East South Central......... 12,763 12,853 8,190 8,261 7,823 7,895 368 366 4.5 4.4 4.1 - 4.7 Alabama................. Kentucky................ Mississippi............. Tennessee............... 3,384 3,057 2,073 4,249 3,401 3,082 2,086 4,284 2,141 1,967 1,268 2,816 2,154 1,982 1,326 2,798 2,039 1,879 1,203 2,702 2,055 1,900 1,251 2,688 102 88 65 113 99 82 75 110 4.8 4.5 5.1 4.0 4.6 4.1 5.7 3.9 4.0 3.6 5.1 3.4 - 5.2 4.6 6.3 4.4 West South Central......... Arkansas................ Louisiana............... Oklahoma................ Texas................... 22,631 1,957 3,278 2,540 14,856 22,956 1,977 3,289 2,558 15,132 15,155 1,229 2,052 1,655 10,219 15,240 1,238 2,030 1,648 10,325 14,466 1,174 1,948 1,598 9,747 14,585 1,183 1,917 1,598 9,887 688 55 104 57 472 655 55 112 50 437 4.5 4.5 5.1 3.4 4.6 4.3 4.4 5.5 3.0 4.2 4.1 3.8 4.9 2.6 3.9 - 4.5 5.0 6.1 3.4 4.5 West.......................... Mountain................... Arizona................. Colorado................ Idaho................... Montana................. Nevada.................. New Mexico.............. Utah.................... Wyoming................. 46,129 12,802 3,563 3,080 934 685 1,363 1,306 1,503 368 46,891 13,033 3,626 3,141 951 691 1,408 1,318 1,527 371 31,191 8,847 2,359 2,264 651 474 942 809 1,086 262 31,806 8,949 2,347 2,276 658 479 986 833 1,104 267 29,658 8,478 2,255 2,198 617 449 900 764 1,046 249 30,333 8,614 2,256 2,213 626 456 946 792 1,068 257 1,533 369 104 66 34 25 42 45 41 13 1,473 336 91 63 32 24 40 40 36 10 4.9 4.2 4.4 2.9 5.2 5.2 4.4 5.6 3.7 4.9 4.6 3.8 3.9 2.7 4.9 4.9 4.1 4.9 3.2 3.9 4.4 3.6 3.4 2.3 4.3 4.3 3.6 4.3 2.8 3.4 - 4.8 4.0 4.4 3.1 5.5 5.5 4.6 5.5 3.6 4.4 Pacific.................... Alaska.................. California.............. Hawaii.................. Oregon.................. Washington.............. 33,327 434 25,044 885 2,583 4,381 33,858 438 25,489 889 2,608 4,434 22,344 319 16,596 593 1,761 3,075 22,856 322 17,091 595 1,803 3,045 21,180 299 15,732 560 1,661 2,929 21,719 301 16,246 570 1,715 2,888 1,164 20 865 33 100 145 1,137 21 845 26 87 158 5.2 6.4 5.2 5.6 5.7 4.7 5.0 6.6 4.9 4.3 4.9 5.2 4.8 5.9 4.7 3.7 4.3 4.6 - 5.2 7.3 5.1 4.9 5.5 5.8 Puerto Rico(3)................ 2,803 2,834 1,302 1,306 1,149 1,174 153 132 11.7 10.1 (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 data for regions, divisions, or states. 3 The source of these data is the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources. 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. Table 2. Employment-population ratio of persons 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 1999-2000 annual averages (Percent) Employment-population ratio(1) Over-the-year Region, division, and state change 1999 2000 United States ....... 64.3 64.5 0.2 Northeast ................ New England ............. Connecticut ............ Maine .................. Massachusetts .......... New Hampshire .......... Rhode Island ........... Vermont ................ 62.5 66.4 65.4 65.1 66.5 70.3 64.4 69.9 62.8 66.6 67.3 66.6 65.6 71.0 64.3 68.3 .3 .2 1.9 1.5 -.9 .7 -.1 -1.6 Middle Atlantic ......... New Jersey ............. New York ............... Pennsylvania ........... 61.2 64.1 59.7 61.6 61.5 64.1 60.3 61.6 .3 .0 .6 .0 Midwest .................. East North Central ...... Illinois ............... Indiana ................ Michigan ............... Ohio ................... Wisconsin .............. 67.3 66.2 66.7 66.2 66.0 64.0 70.1 67.4 66.4 66.7 65.9 66.5 64.3 70.2 .1 .2 .0 -.3 .5 .3 .1 West North Central ...... Iowa ................... Kansas ................. Minnesota .............. Missouri ............... Nebraska ............... North Dakota ........... South Dakota ........... 69.8 70.1 70.0 73.0 66.4 71.0 68.1 71.1 69.8 69.4 67.9 72.6 67.9 71.5 68.9 71.0 .0 -.7 -2.1 -.4 1.5 .5 .8 -.1 South .................... South Atlantic .......... Delaware ............... District Of Columbia ... Florida ................ Georgia ................ Maryland ............... 63.2 63.4 64.7 63.4 60.1 66.8 67.3 63.4 63.9 66.8 63.6 60.4 67.4 67.2 .2 .5 2.1 .2 .3 .6 -.1 North Carolina ......... South Carolina ......... Virginia ............... West Virginia .......... 65.1 62.7 65.6 52.7 65.7 63.0 66.6 53.9 .6 .3 1.0 1.2 East South Central ...... Alabama ................ Kentucky ............... Mississippi ............ Tennessee .............. 61.3 60.3 61.5 58.0 63.6 61.4 60.4 61.7 60.0 62.7 .1 .1 .2 2.0 -.9 West South Central ...... Arkansas ............... Louisiana .............. Oklahoma ............... Texas .................. 63.9 60.0 59.4 62.9 65.6 63.5 59.8 58.3 62.5 65.3 -.4 -.2 -1.1 -.4 -.3 West ..................... Mountain ................ Arizona ................ Colorado ............... Idaho .................. Montana ................ Nevada ................. New Mexico ............. Utah ................... Wyoming ................ 64.3 66.2 63.3 71.4 66.1 65.6 66.0 58.5 69.6 67.8 64.7 66.1 62.2 70.5 65.8 65.9 67.2 60.1 70.0 69.2 .4 -.1 -1.1 -.9 -.3 .3 1.2 1.6 .4 1.4 Pacific ................. Alaska ................. California ............. Hawaii ................. Oregon ................. Washington ............. 63.6 68.8 62.8 63.2 64.3 66.9 64.1 68.6 63.7 64.1 65.8 65.1 .5 -.2 .9 .9 1.5 -1.8 Puerto Rico(2) ............. 41.0 41.4 .4 1 Employment as a percent of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over. 2 The source of these data is the Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.