Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in August. Twenty-seven states recorded unemployment rate increases, 13 states registered rate decreases, and 10 states and the District of Columbia had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 21 states reported increases, and 3 states had no change. The national jobless rate was about unchanged in August at 9.6 percent and also little different from a year earlier (9.7 percent).

In August, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 14 states and decreased in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in North Carolina (+18,600), Missouri (+3,600), Tennessee (+2,500), and Massachusetts (+2,100). The largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment were in North Carolina (+0.5 percent) and New Hampshire (+0.2 percent). The largest over-the-month employment decreases were in Michigan (-50,300), Texas (-34,200), and California (-33,600). The largest over-the-month percentage decreases in employment occurred in the District of Columbia (-2.7 percent), Alaska (-2.6 percent), Michigan (-1.3 percent), and Hawaii (-1.1 percent). Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states and the District of Columbia, and decreased in 18 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were reported in New Hampshire and Oklahoma (+1.7 percent each), followed by Massachusetts (+1.5 percent) and Indiana (+1.4 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Nevada (-1.4 percent), followed by Colorado and New Mexico (-1.3 percent each) and Rhode Island (-0.9 percent).

Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

The West reported the highest regional unemployment rate in August, 10.8 percent, while the Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 8.8 percent. No region experienced a statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate change. The Midwest was the only region to register a significant rate change from a year earlier (-0.6 percentage point).

Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific continued to report the highest jobless rate, 11.5 percent in August. The West North Central registered the lowest rate, 7.1 percent, followed by the West South Central, at 8.0 percent. The South Atlantic experienced the only statistically significant unemployment rate increase from a month earlier (+0.1 percentage point), while the East South Central had the only significant decrease (-0.2 point). Three divisions posted significant over-the-year jobless rate changes: the East South Central and East North Central had decreases (-0.9 and -0.6 percentage point, respectively), while the Mountain registered an increase (+0.6 point).

State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Nevada again reported the highest unemployment rate among the states,14.4 percent in August, which was a new series high for the state.(All region, division, and state series begin in 1976.) The states with the next highest rates were Michigan, 13.1 percent, and California, 12.4 percent. North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate, 3.7 percent, followed by South Dakota and Nebraska, at 4.5 and 4.6 percent, respectively. In total, 25 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 9.6 percent, 7 states had measurably higher rates, and 18 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

In August, Florida and Maryland recorded the only statistically significant unemployment rate increases from July (+0.2 percentage point each). Two states posted significant over-the-month rate decreases: Mississippi (-0.8 percentage point) and Alabama (-0.5 point). The remaining 46 states and the District of Columbia registered jobless rates that were not measurably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.

Eight states reported statistically significant over-the-year jobless rate decreases in August, the largest of which were in Alabama (-1.4 percentage points), Tennessee (-1.3 points), and North Carolina (-1.2 points). Montana and Florida recorded the only significant rate increases from August 2009 (+1.0 and +0.7 percentage point, respectively).The remaining 40 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier.

Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Between July and August, 13 states and the District of Columbia recorded statistically significant changes in employment. The largest over-the-month statistically significant job gain occurred in North Carolina (+18,600). The largest over-the-month statistically significant job losses occurred in Michigan (-50,300), Texas (-34,200), and California (-33,600).

Over the year, seven states reported statistically significant employment increases, while two states experienced statistically significant declines in employment. The largest statistically significant over-the-year employment increases were posted in Texas (+129,100), Massachusetts (+48,500), and Indiana (+40,000). One state recorded a statistically significant over-the-year increase in employment that was less than 15,000: New Hampshire (+10,500). The two statistically significant job losses occurred in California (-112,800) and Colorado (-28,100).