Though the overall unemployment rates didn’t change much in August, nonfarm employment still increased in 35 states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Nationally, the unemployment rate went from 6.2% in July to 6.1% in August. The monthly change may be small, but the national jobless rate has dropped 1.1% since August of last year.
California, Florida and Texas had the largest hiring increases from July to August. California added about 44,200 new employees, Florida added about 22,700 and Texas added about 20,100.
New Mexico, Nebraska, Alabama and Georgia had the highest percentage increase in employment from July to August. New Mexico increased employment by 0.6%, Nebraska increased by 0.5% and Alabama and Georgia increased by 0.4%.
Over the past year, every state except Alaska has increased employment, with North Dakota having the highest growth (4.4%). Nevada, Texas and Utah each had an employment increase of 3.5% since 2013.
Though Georgia was one of the states with the highest percentage increase in employment for July to August, it also had the highest unemployment rate in the U.S. with 8.1% unemployed. North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate with only 2.8% unemployed.
Regionally, all four geographic areas of the country have decreased their unemployment rates over the past year. The Midwest, Northeast and West each decreased their respective unemployment rates by 1.4% and the South decreased its unemployment rate by 0.7% since 2013.
Since 2013, 31 states have had positive and significant employment changes, with Texas, California and Florida leading the pack with increases of 395,200, 313,900 and 211,200, respectively, according to the BLS report.
Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits than expected last week, according to Reuters. This could indicate an upcoming employment increase when September’s employment report is released.
