Respect Poverty

Here were the states with the lowest unemployment rates in December

Unemployment rates increased in 15 states.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech | Jan. 23, 2024

A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Wheeling, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
A hiring sign is displayed at a retail store in Wheeling, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023. On Thursday, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Story at a glance

  • North Dakota and Maryland have the lowest unemployment rates in the country, according to new Bureau of Labor Statistics data.  
  • Minnesota was the only state to experience a decrease in unemployment between November and December of 2023.
  • Nevada now has the highest unemployment rate at 5.4 percent.  

Unemployment rates increased in 15 states last December, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday. 

Only one state — Minnesota — saw a decrease in unemployment between November and December of last year.  

Massachusetts and Rhode Island saw the largest increase in unemployment rates at 0.3 percentage points each, according to the BLS.  

Meanwhile, unemployment rates remained largely unchanged in 34 states and Washington, D.C. and the national unemployment rate remained the same at 3.7 percent.  

In total, the country gained 216,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month with more jobs added to government, health care, social assistance, and construction, according to BLS data released earlier this month.  

Here are the 10 states with the lowest unemployment rates last month:  

  1. Maryland-1.9 percent 
  1. North Dakota-1.9 percent 
  1. South Dakota-2.0 percent 
  1. Vermont-2.2 percent 
  1. Nebraska-2.3 percent 
  1. New Hampshire-2.5 percent 
  1. Alabama-2.6 percent 
  1. Utah-2.8 percent 
  1. Kansas-2.8 percent 
  1. Minnesota-2.9 percent 

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