Two years after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which triggered a wave of mass layoffs not seen since the Great Depression, 10 states have set new record low unemployment rates as businesses struggle to hire new workers.
A new Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report shows that Nebraska and Utah had the lowest unemployment rates in the nation in January, at just 2.2 percent each. Indiana has a 2.4 percent unemployment rate; in Kansas it is 2.6 percent.
Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, and West Virginia set new records for the lowest unemployment rates since the BLS began counting by state in 1976.
Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia saw statistically significant changes in unemployment over the past year, all in a positive direction.
Over the past year, Nevada’s unemployment rate has fallen an incredible 5 percentage points, from 10.2% to 5.2%, as the number of Americans returning to the country’s gambling mecca helped set new gaming records. The unemployment rate in Hawaii and New York, two other states hard hit by the pandemic, rose by more than 3 percentage points each.
The number of people employed in non-farm work has increased significantly in 46 states and the District of Columbia over the past year. California added over 1.1 million jobs, Texas added 687,000 new jobs, and Florida added half a million. Nevada’s employment grew 10%, the highest proportionate increase in the country.
Eighteen states now employ more people than they had jobs in February 2020, shortly before the pandemic hit and caused the unemployment rate to skyrocket, according to BLS data. These states were: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.
Several other countries, including Kansas, Illinois, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Washington and Wyoming, are poised to surpass their pre-pandemic employment figures in the coming months. There are only a few thousand fewer jobs in these states today than during the pandemic.
According to BLS data, the capital city has the highest unemployment rate in the country. The agency said the DC unemployment rate, which is historically higher than the national average, is 6.3 percent.
California, Alaska, Connecticut, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania have unemployment rates of 5 percent or more.
The coronavirus pandemic has dealt a terrible blow to the national economy as businesses shut down or lay off workers. Historical BLS data shows that 44 states hit their highest unemployment rate ever in April or May 2020.