Unemployment rates were lower in October in 28 states and the District of Columbia and stable in 22 states, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-five states and the District had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier and five states were little changed. The national unemployment rate, 4.6 percent, edged down by 0.2 percentage point over the month and was 2.3 points lower than in October 2020.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 states and the District of Columbia and was essentially unchanged in 25 states in October 2021. Over the year, 48 states and the District of Columbia added nonfarm payroll jobs and 2 states were essentially unchanged.

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This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force and unemployment data are modeled based largely on a survey of  households. These data pertain to individuals by where they reside. The employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours, and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by  where the establishments are located.

Unemployment

In October, Arizona had the largest over-the-month unemployment rate decrease  (-0.5 percentage point), closely followed by Connecticut, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Wyoming (-0.4 point each). Twenty-two states had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)

California and Nevada had the highest unemployment rates in October, 7.3 percent each. Nebraska and Utah had the lowest jobless rates, 1.9 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. The rates in Georgia (3.1 percent), Nebraska (1.9 percent), Oklahoma (2.7 percent), Utah (2.2 percent), and West Virginia (4.3 percent) set new series lows. (All state series begin in 1976.) In total, 19 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.6 percent, 16 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 15 states had rates that were not appreciably  different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 1.)

The largest unemployment rate decrease from October 2020 occurred in Hawaii  (-7.7 percentage points). The next largest over-the-year jobless rate decrease was in Nevada (-4.7 percentage points), with another three states experiencing  declines of 3.0 points or more. (See table C.)

Nonfarm Payroll Employment

Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 states and the District of Columbia and was essentially unchanged in 25 states in October 2021. The largest job gains occurred in California (+96,800), Texas (+56,600), and New York (+43,900). The  largest percentage increases occurred in Louisiana (+1.9 percent), Alaska (+1.4  percent), and Michigan and the District (+0.9 percent each). (See tables D and 3.)

Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia and was essentially unchanged in 2 states. The largest job increases occurred in California (+811,200), Texas (+661,300), and Florida (+428,600). The largest percentage increases occurred in Hawaii (+10.5 percent), Nevada (+7.6 percent), and Massachusetts (+5.9 percent). (See table E.)