Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2014-06-20

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in May. Twenty states had unemployment rate decreases from April, 16 states had increases, and 14 states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier and one state had an increase. The national jobless rate held at 6.3 percent in May but was 1.2 percentage points lower than in May 2013. In May 2014, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 14 states. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Texas (+56,400), Pennsylvania (+24,700), and New York (+23,400). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in Florida (-17,900), followed by Arizona (-8,400) and Illinois (-2,600). The largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment occurred in West Virginia (+1.5 percent), Maine (+0.8 percent), and Delaware (+0.7 percent).