The Bureau of Labor Statistics, US department of Labor unraveled its monthly economic news release- “Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary” on Monday, 18th August for the month of July 2014. The national average jobless rate is 6.2 % that saw little change from June 2014.
We have reviewed and highlighted key facts that matter the most. There was little deviation in regional and state unemployment rates in July as compared to June 2014.
- 30 states reported higher unemployment rates from June.
- 12 states and District of Columbia had no changes.
- 8 states saw decrease in unemployment rates.
Non-Farm Payroll Employment
Saw increase in 36 states including District of Columbia
Decreased in 13 states, Iowa saw no change
The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in
Texas (+46,600)
California (+27,700)
Michigan (+17,900)
Regional Unemployment
In July, the West continued to have the highest regional unemployment rate, 6.6 percent,while the Midwest again had the lowest rate, 5.9 percent. The South had the only statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate change (+0.1 percentage point). Significant over-the-year rate decreases occurred in all four regions: the Northeast and West (-1.5 percentage points each), Midwest (-1.4 points), and South (-1.0 point)
State Unemployment
Mississippi continues to have the highest unemployment rate among the states in July @ 8.0 percent. North Dakota remains a hot destination for employment clocking jobless rate@ 2.8 percent.
In total, 18 states had unemployment rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 6.2 percent, 8 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 24 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
States with unemployment rates significantly different from that of the U.S., July 2014, seasonally adjusted.
| State | Rate |
| United States | 6.2 |
| California | 7.4 |
| Colorado | 5.3 |
| District of Columbia | 7.4 |
| Georgia | 7.8 |
| Hawaii | 4.4 |
| Idaho | 4.8 |
| Iowa | 4.5 |
| Kansas | 4.9 |
| Kentucky | 7.4 |
| Maine | 5.5 |
| Michigan | 7.7 |
| Minnesota | 4.5 |
| Mississippi | 8 |
| Montana | 4.6 |
| Nebraska | 3.6 |
| Nevada | 7.7 |
| New Hampshire | 4.4 |
| North Dakota | 2.8 |
| Oklahoma | 4.6 |
| Rhode Island | 7.7 |
| South Dakota | 3.7 |
| Tennessee | 7.1 |
| Texas | 5.1 |
| Utah | 3.6 |
| Vermont | 3.7 |
| Virginia | 5 |
| Wyoming | 4.4 |
| Vermont | 3.7 |
| Virginia | 5 |
| Wyoming | 4.4 |
There is not much to rave about the statistics from this release, the key rates have not deviated to a great extent. For a copy of full release, click here.