Key Points:
- Unemployment rates fell in 14 states and remained stable in 36 states and the District of Columbia in April.
- The U.S. unemployment rate was little changed at 3.4% in April.
- Eight states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rates above the U.S. average in April.
- South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate at 1.9%, followed by Nebraska at 2.0%, and New Hampshire and North Dakota at 2.1%.
- The rates in Alabama (2.2%), Arizona (3.4%), Arkansas (2.8 percent), Kentucky (3.7 percent), Maine (2.4 percent), Maryland (2.5%), Mississippi (3.4%), Ohio (3.7%), West Virginia (3.3%), and Wisconsin (2.4%) set new series lows.
- Nevada has the highest unemployment rate at 5.4%, followed by the District at 5.0%, and California at 4.5%.
- In April, 14 states had over-the-month unemployment rate decreases, the largest of which was in Oregon (-0.4%).