The first calendar quarter of the year 2015 has been phenomenal for unemployment situation in the country. Lowering unemployment rates has strengthened the economy. As a part of our monthly coverage of unemployment numbers released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics(BLS), U.S department of Labor, let us uncover the regional & state wise unemployment numbers.
The B.L.S released “Regional and State Employment and Unemployment – January 2015”, its monthly compilation of countrywide statistics in this regard. UnemploymentCalculator.org has untangled the fact sheet and presents to you, data that matters the most.
The national unemployment rate at the end of January 2015 was 5.7%, which was down by 0.9% compared to the same month in 2014. The current rate though, was the same as December 2014.
Break Up – State wise(Non farm Payroll Employment & Unemployment)
Overall, 24 states saw jobless rates decrease from December 2014, only 8 states saw a spike and 18 states with District Of Columbia saw no change the unemployment rates.
Top 3 States which added most number of jobs
1) California(+67,300)
2) Ohio(+25,100)
3) Michigan(+24,200)
Top 3 States which lost most number of jobs
1) Virginia(-10,900)
2) Minnesota(-7,900)
3) Louisiana(-7,500)
Overall, employment(non farm payroll) increased in 39 states, was down in 10 states & D.C. North Carolina did not see any fluctuation in its employment numbers.
Top 3 States with highest percentage increase(Over the month)
1) Idaho (+1.4 percent)
2) Hawaii (+0.9 percent)
3) Utah (+0.7 percent)
Top 3 States with highest percentage decrease(Over the month)
1) Maine (-0.6 percent),
2) Louisiana(-0.4 percent)
3) New Hampshire (-0.4 percent)
Over the year data saw non farm employment increase in 49 states & D.C. Only Maine witnessed a negligible decline at -0.1%.
Browsing the unemployment numbers, North Dakota continued to dominate the chart with lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2.8%. Nevada and Mississippi were at the bottom with a jobless rate of 7.1% each. The District of Columbia also performed poorly at 7.7%. Oregon saw the largest decrease(over the month rate) at -0.4% followed by Idaho, Maine and Rhode Island at -0.3% each.
To sum it up, 43 states in the country lowered their over the year unemployment rates in January 2015. The largest slumps occurred in Illinois and Rhode Island (-2.1 % each).
Break Up – Region wise(Non farm Payroll)
Among the regions, Midwest stood on top with lowest regional unemployment rate of 5.2%. On the other hand, West had the highest rate at 6.3%. All the four regions saw over the year declines in unemployment rates.
- Midwest (-1.4%)
- Northeast (-1.1%)
- West (-1.0%)
- South (-0.9%)
Split By Geographic Divisions
At 4.2%, West North Central had the lowest unemployment rate among all the geographical divisions. The Pacific had the highest jobless rate at 6.7%. All the 9 divisions saw declines in unemployment rates compared to January 2014. The largest decrease occurred in East North Central (-1.6 %).
The month of January has been promising for the labor class in the country. You must be aware of the unemployment insurance program jointly administered by the state and federal authorities. Under this scheme, unemployed citizens are eligible for weekly monetary benefits. If you’re currently unemployed, we urge you to apply for unemployment compensation. Estimate your monetary benefits before applying and know how much you can be eligible for.