Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2015-06-19

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in May. Twenty-five states had unemployment rate increases from April, 9 states and the District of Columbia had decreases, and 16 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier and five states had increases. The national jobless rate was essentially unchanged from April at 5.5 percent and was 0.8 percentage point lower than in May 2014. In May 2015, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 12 states, and was unchanged in Montana. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in California (+54,200), New York (+42,700), and Texas (+33,200). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in Wisconsin (-8,600), followed by North Dakota (-5,300) and South Carolina (-4,900).