Job Growth Was Stagnant in November in All But 17 States

This content leverages data from USAFacts, a non-profit that visualizes governmental data. You can learn more on its website, Facebook, and Twitter.

• While the national unemployment rate declined to 6.7% in November, only half of all states saw their unemployment rates decline and the number of jobs increased in only 17 states. 
• The states with the highest unemployment rates in November were New Jersey (10.2%), Hawaii (10.1%), and Nevada (10.1%); while five states had unemployment rates below 4% ― Nebraska (3.1%), Vermont (3.1%), South Dakota (3.5%), Iowa (3.6%), and New Hampshire (3.8%). The USAFacts chart below shows the November unemployment rate in each state:

• Although Hawaii’s unemployment was still among the highest in the country in November, it had the largest monthly drop in unemployment from 14.2% to 10.1%. New Jersey experienced an increase in the unemployment rate of 2.2 percentage points in November, as the rate rose to 10.2%. This USAFacts chart shows the monthly unemployment rate dating back to November 2019 in the five states with the highest unemployment rates in November 2020:

• Only two states reported employment levels in November 2020 that were statistically equal or higher than their employment level in November 2019 ― Utah (+0.47%) and Idaho (-0.01%) ― as this USAFacts chart shows:

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / andresr)