2020 Regional and State Unemployment — 2021-03-03

Annual average unemployment rates rose in 2020 in all regions, divisions, and states, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment- population ratios decreased across all of these geographic areas as well. The U.S. jobless rate increased by 4.4 percentage points from the prior year to 8.1 percent, while the national employment-population ratio fell by 4.0 points to 56.8 percent. The deterioration in the labor market in 2020 reflected the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. All four regions posted unemployment rate increases from 2019, from a maximum of 5.5 percentage points in the Northeast to a minimum of 3.7 points in the South. The Northeast, 9.2 percent, and West, 9.0 percent, registered jobless rates higher than the U.S. rate in 2020, while the Midwest and South, 7.6 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, both had rates below the national figure.