Key Points:
- Unemployment rates rose in two states, fell in five, and remained stable in 43 states and the District of Columbia in April.
- The U.S. unemployment rate rose 0.1% to 3.9% in April but is 0.5% higher than last year.
- In total, 24 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 3.9%, 5 states and the District had higher rates, and 21 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
- Thirty states had unemployment rate increases from April 2023, the largest of which was in Rhode Island (+1.4%).
- North Dakota and South Dakota had the lowest jobless rates in April, 2.0% each.
- The rate in Mississippi, 2.8%, set a new series low.
- California had the highest unemployment rate at 5.3%, closely followed by the District of Columbia at 5.2%, and Nevada at 5.1%.
- Five states had unemployment rate decreases in April: Arizona, Maine, Mississippi, and Montana (-0.2%) and Virginia (-0.1%).
- Florida and Maryland had the only rate increases (+0.1%).