Unemployment rates were higher in April in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and all had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, according to data released today by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Connecticut posted the lowest US jobless rate in April at 7.9%. The next-lowest rates were in Minnesota and Nebraska, at 8.1% and 8.3%, respectively.
Nevada posted the highest rate at 28.2%; Michigan and Hawaii posted the next-highest rates at 22.7% and 22.3% respectively. The rates in Hawaii and Nevada exceeded their previous series highs by more than 10.0 percentage points.
The rates in 43 states set new series highs. All state series begin in 1976. The rates in Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont exceeded their previous highs by more than 5.0 points each.
Nonfarm payroll employment decreased in all 50 states in April. The largest job declines occurred in California (-2.34 million), New York (-1.83 million), and Texas (-1.30 million).
The largest percentage decline occurred in Michigan, down 22.8%, followed by Vermont and New York, down by 19.6% and 18.8% respectively.