Global| Jul 17 2020State Labor Markets in June
|in:Viewpoints
Summary
There was some convergence in unemployment across the nation in June, a month in which 42 states saw significant declines in their unemployment rates, while 5 saw increases. Only 10 states had unemployment rates above 10 percent, with [...]
There was some convergence in unemployment across the nation in June, a month in which 42 states saw significant declines in their unemployment rates, while 5 saw increases. Only 10 states had unemployment rates above 10 percent, with Massachusetts's 17.4 percent being the highest. On the low side was Kentucky's astonishing 4.3 percent, but a 5 percent drop in the state's labor force from May to June played a major role in holding down formal unemployment in the Blue Grass state.
Every state—and DC—saw statistically significant increases in payroll employment in June. 16 states had gains over 100,000. This group does include Kentucky. However, resident employment there rose only 28,500, illustrating the often-large divergence between the two measures. New Jersey experienced an even more striking example of this phenomenon, with a 130,900 rise in payrolls coupled with a 60,800 drop in resident employment. The rate of growth of payrolls ranged from North Dakota's modest .8 percent to Michigan's whopping 8.1 percent, spurred by factory recalls. In general, as was the case in May, gains in leisure and hospitality, as well as education and health care, played a large role in payroll growth.
Despite the increases in May and June, all states still report lower job counts than a year ago. Kentucky is the only state not seeing an increase in its unemployment rate over this period.
Puerto Rico also saw a substantial increase in jobs in June, but once again BLS is unable to report its seasonally adjusted household sector figures. Not seasonally adjusted, Puerto Rico's unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in June, which was lower than most states.
Charles Steindel
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Charles Steindel has been editor of Business Economics, the journal of the National Association for Business Economics, since 2016. From 2014 to 2021 he was Resident Scholar at the Anisfield School of Business, Ramapo College of New Jersey. From 2010 to 2014 he was the first Chief Economist of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, with responsibilities for economic and revenue projections and analysis of state economic policy. He came to the Treasury after a long career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where he played a major role in forecasting and policy advice and rose to the rank of Senior Vice-President. He has served in leadership positions in a number of professional organizations. In 2011 he received the William F. Butler Award from the New York Association for Business Economics, is a fellow of NABE and of the Money Marketeers of New York University, and has received several awards for articles published in Business Economics. In 2017 he delivered Ramapo College's Sebastian J. Raciti Memorial Lecture. He is a member of the panel for the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's Survey of Professional Forecasters and of the Committee on Research in Income and Wealth. He has published papers in a range of areas, and is the author of Economic Indicators for Professionals: Putting the Statistics into Perspective. He received his bachelor's degree from Emory University, his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is a National Association for Business Economics Certified Business EconomistTM.