Change in Unemployment Rate
Definition
Percent change in unemployment rate, 2003-2011.
Description
The unemployment rate is a good indication of the state of the economy as well as the financial stability of families. Without income earned through employment, most families will have difficulty financing basic consumption and paying down debt, let alone saving for the future. This indicator tracks the change, over time, of the annual unemployment rate.
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Change in Unemployment Rate
| State | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| United States |
6.0% |
5.5% |
5.1% |
4.6% |
4.6% |
5.8% |
9.3% |
9.6% |
8.9% |
| Alabama |
5.8% |
5.8% |
4.2% |
4.1% |
4.0% |
5.6% |
11.2% |
10.5% |
9.8% |
| Alaska |
8.0% |
7.5% |
6.7% |
6.9% |
6.2% |
6.8% |
7.9% |
8.0% |
7.6% |
| Arizona |
5.6% |
5.1% |
4.8% |
4.2% |
3.9% |
5.9% |
10.0% |
10.4% |
9.5% |
| Arkansas |
6.2% |
5.9% |
5.1% |
5.3% |
5.6% |
5.2% |
7.8% |
8.6% |
8.6% |
| California |
6.7% |
6.2% |
5.3% |
4.8% |
5.3% |
7.1% |
11.3% |
12.2% |
11.6% |
| Colorado |
6.0% |
5.4% |
4.9% |
4.2% |
3.7% |
4.8% |
7.4% |
8.7% |
8.4% |
| Connecticut |
5.5% |
4.9% |
5.0% |
4.3% |
4.5% |
5.7% |
8.1% |
9.2% |
8.9% |
| Delaware |
4.4% |
3.9% |
4.3% |
3.5% |
3.5% |
5.0% |
8.5% |
8.5% |
7.5% |
| District of Columbia |
7.0% |
8.2% |
6.2% |
5.8% |
5.5% |
6.6% |
9.5% |
9.2% |
10.4% |
| Florida |
5.2% |
4.6% |
3.6% |
3.2% |
4.1% |
6.1% |
10.4% |
11.1% |
10.0% |
| Georgia |
4.7% |
4.7% |
5.4% |
4.6% |
4.3% |
6.4% |
9.8% |
10.7% |
10.1% |
| Hawaii |
4.3% |
3.4% |
2.9% |
2.7% |
2.9% |
4.2% |
7.4% |
7.0% |
7.3% |
| Idaho |
5.4% |
5.3% |
4.0% |
3.5% |
3.0% |
5.4% |
8.5% |
9.0% |
8.7% |
| Illinois |
6.7% |
6.1% |
5.6% |
4.5% |
5.1% |
6.6% |
10.0% |
10.2% |
9.7% |
| Indiana |
5.1% |
5.3% |
5.7% |
5.0% |
4.6% |
6.0% |
10.0% |
10.6% |
9.0% |
| Iowa |
4.5% |
4.6% |
4.5% |
3.6% |
3.7% |
4.0% |
6.3% |
6.1% |
5.8% |
| Kansas |
5.4% |
5.5% |
5.1% |
4.4% |
4.1% |
4.5% |
6.8% |
7.4% |
6.7% |
| Kentucky |
6.2% |
5.2% |
6.1% |
5.6% |
5.4% |
6.3% |
10.6% |
10.3% |
9.5% |
| Louisiana |
6.6% |
6.0% |
6.0% |
4.6% |
4.3% |
5.0% |
7.1% |
7.8% |
7.8% |
| Maine |
5.1% |
4.7% |
5.0% |
4.6% |
4.7% |
5.4% |
8.1% |
8.2% |
8.0% |
| Maryland |
4.5% |
4.2% |
4.2% |
3.9% |
3.6% |
4.2% |
7.1% |
7.7% |
7.0% |
| Massachusetts |
5.8% |
5.1% |
4.9% |
5.1% |
4.6% |
5.3% |
8.4% |
8.5% |
7.3% |
| Michigan |
7.3% |
7.0% |
6.6% |
7.0% |
7.1% |
8.3% |
13.3% |
12.2% |
10.2% |
| Minnesota |
5.0% |
4.8% |
3.9% |
4.0% |
4.6% |
5.5% |
7.8% |
7.3% |
6.5% |
| Mississippi |
6.3% |
6.2% |
6.9% |
6.4% |
6.1% |
6.5% |
9.2% |
10.9% |
10.5% |
| Missouri |
5.6% |
5.7% |
5.5% |
4.8% |
5.0% |
6.1% |
9.4% |
9.5% |
8.4% |
| Montana |
4.7% |
4.9% |
4.4% |
3.6% |
3.6% |
5.2% |
7.1% |
7.7% |
7.3% |
| Nebraska |
4.0% |
3.8% |
4.0% |
3.1% |
3.1% |
3.3% |
4.6% |
4.8% |
4.5% |
| Nevada |
5.2% |
4.2% |
4.3% |
4.1% |
4.6% |
6.1% |
11.3% |
14.4% |
13.1% |
| New Hampshire |
4.3% |
3.7% |
3.7% |
3.4% |
3.6% |
3.8% |
6.4% |
6.0% |
5.4% |
| New Jersey |
5.9% |
4.8% |
4.4% |
4.8% |
4.2% |
5.4% |
9.1% |
9.3% |
9.4% |
| New Mexico |
6.4% |
5.6% |
5.3% |
4.4% |
3.7% |
4.4% |
7.6% |
8.5% |
7.4% |
| New York |
6.3% |
5.8% |
5.0% |
4.4% |
4.6% |
5.5% |
8.3% |
8.5% |
8.1% |
| North Carolina |
6.5% |
5.4% |
5.2% |
4.7% |
4.5% |
6.4% |
10.4% |
10.5% |
10.5% |
| North Dakota |
4.0% |
3.4% |
3.4% |
3.3% |
3.2% |
3.2% |
4.2% |
3.8% |
3.6% |
| Ohio |
6.1% |
6.3% |
6.0% |
5.4% |
5.6% |
6.5% |
10.3% |
10.1% |
8.7% |
| Oklahoma |
5.7% |
4.9% |
4.6% |
3.9% |
4.4% |
3.7% |
6.2% |
7.2% |
6.2% |
| Oregon |
8.2% |
7.6% |
6.0% |
5.4% |
5.2% |
6.4% |
11.5% |
11.0% |
9.4% |
| Pennsylvania |
5.6% |
5.6% |
4.9% |
4.7% |
4.3% |
5.3% |
7.9% |
8.6% |
7.8% |
| Rhode Island |
5.3% |
5.4% |
5.2% |
5.2% |
4.9% |
7.9% |
11.2% |
11.3% |
11.1% |
| South Carolina |
6.8% |
6.9% |
6.7% |
6.5% |
5.6% |
6.7% |
11.8% |
11.0% |
10.5% |
| South Dakota |
3.6% |
3.7% |
4.3% |
3.1% |
2.9% |
3.0% |
5.0% |
5.1% |
4.9% |
| Tennessee |
5.8% |
5.1% |
5.6% |
5.2% |
4.6% |
6.6% |
10.8% |
9.4% |
9.2% |
| Texas |
6.8% |
6.0% |
5.4% |
4.8% |
4.3% |
4.8% |
7.5% |
8.0% |
7.8% |
| Utah |
5.6% |
5.3% |
4.1% |
2.9% |
2.6% |
3.5% |
7.3% |
8.2% |
7.0% |
| Vermont |
4.6% |
3.7% |
3.5% |
3.6% |
4.0% |
4.9% |
6.5% |
6.2% |
5.8% |
| Virginia |
4.1% |
3.9% |
3.5% |
3.1% |
3.1% |
4.0% |
6.6% |
7.5% |
6.5% |
| Washington |
7.5% |
6.2% |
5.6% |
5.0% |
4.6% |
5.3% |
9.0% |
10.2% |
9.4% |
| West Virginia |
6.1% |
5.3% |
5.3% |
5.1% |
4.6% |
4.4% |
8.0% |
9.0% |
8.1% |
| Wisconsin |
5.6% |
5.0% |
4.7% |
4.8% |
5.0% |
4.7% |
8.4% |
8.7% |
7.8% |
| Wyoming |
4.4% |
3.8% |
3.6% |
3.4% |
2.9% |
3.0% |
6.5% |
6.6% |
5.9% |
Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization by State, Archived Tables. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012.
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