State labor market results in November continue to show lessened improvement and, in some measures, some softening. Eight states had statistically significant increases in payrolls. West Virginia saw a 1 percent gain, and New Hampshire’s .6 percent was the only other gain higher than ½ percent. Florida saw the largest numerical increase. Its 28,100 is fairly small compared to earlier months, where the leaders generally with state pickups of more than 50,000 Over the last 12 months, every state (and DC) saw a gain in payrolls, but in six cases (as well as in DC) the increases were not seen as statistically significant. Texas’s 5.1 percent gain over this period was the largest.
12 states saw statistically significant increases in their unemployment rates from October to November, but none larger and .3 percentage point. Three states, and DC, had statistically significant declines, none greater than .2 percentage point. Nevada’s 4.9 percent rate was the nation’s highest, with DC and Illinois also posting rates above 4.5 percent; Utah’s 2.2 percent the lowest, with Minnesota and both Dakotas the other ones with rates under 2.5 percent (in October seven states had rates of 2.4 percent or lower).
Puerto Rico's job count rose by more than 4,000, but once again there was insufficient information to compute the (seasonally-adjusted) unemployment rate on the island.