State unemployment rates in September ran from 2.0% in South Dakota to 5.6% in the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Oct. 20. The national rate was 4.2%. Rates fell in five states over the month and rose in none.
What the BLS State Report Shows
The bureau’s state employment and unemployment release covers September and is numbered USDL-26-1603. It says unemployment rates fell in five states over the month and were stable in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Compared with a year earlier, rates fell in 20 states and the District, rose in seven states and changed little in 23.
South Dakota had the lowest rate at 2.0%, followed by North Dakota at 2.2%. The District had the highest rate at 5.6%, followed by California at 5.1% and Michigan at 5.0%. The bureau said 20 states had rates significantly lower than the U.S. rate, two states and the District had significantly higher rates, and 28 states were not appreciably different.
Which States are Above and Below the National Rate
The bureau’s state table lists every state’s rate, and counting it shows a gap between the raw numbers and the bureau’s wording. Seventeen states have a published rate above the national 4.2%, two (New Jersey and Oklahoma) match it and 31 are below it. Yet the bureau calls only California and Michigan significantly higher, because each state’s rate comes with a margin of error.
Connecticut and California both stood at 5.1%, and Oregon and Michigan both stood at 5.0%. Only California and Michigan appear in the bureau’s list of significantly different states, which means the other 15 states above 4.2% cannot be told apart from the national rate with confidence. These counts are calculations from the bureau’s table. The bureau’s release says the figures are “modeled based largely on a survey of households,” which is one reason state rates carry that uncertainty. The spread between the lowest and highest rates is 3.6 percentage points, from 2.0% to 5.6%.
Where Unemployment Fell Over the Year
New Jersey had the largest 12-month decline, from 5.5% in September 2025 to 4.2%, a drop of 1.3 points. The District fell 1.0 point, from 6.6% to 5.6%. Ohio fell from 4.3% to 3.4%, Pennsylvania from 4.4% to 3.6% and Rhode Island from 4.3% to 3.6%. The five monthly decreases were small. Maryland and New Hampshire each fell 0.2 point, to 3.9% and 2.6%. Florida, Nevada and Pennsylvania each fell 0.1 point. Florida’s rate is 4.4%, Nevada’s 4.7% and Pennsylvania’s 3.6%.
Where Unemployment Rose
Seven states had year-over-year increases that the bureau called significant. Connecticut led with a rise of 0.9 point, from 4.2% to 5.1%. Alabama and Hawaii each rose 0.7 point, to 3.5% and 2.8%. Oklahoma rose 0.6 point to 4.2%, Arizona and New Mexico each rose 0.5 point to 4.9% and 4.7%, and Minnesota rose 0.4 point to 4.5%. Alabama and Hawaii still have rates well below the national figure. Alabama’s 3.5% is 0.7 point under 4.2%, and Hawaii’s 2.8% is 1.4 points under it. A large rise from a low base leaves a state in a better position than a smaller rise from a high one.
Which States Added and Lost Jobs
The bureau’s payroll survey shows less movement than its unemployment survey. Over the month, nonfarm employment rose in two states and fell in one. New Jersey added 14,900 jobs, or 0.3%, and South Carolina added 12,500, or 0.5%. Wisconsin lost 13,700 jobs, or 0.4%. Payrolls were essentially unchanged in 47 states and the District.
Over 12 months, payrolls rose in seven states and fell in only the District. Texas added 154,300 jobs, California 129,300 and North Carolina 67,000. South Carolina added 55,200 jobs, a 2.3% gain and the largest percentage increase, followed by Louisiana at 1.8% (36,000 jobs) and Utah at 1.5% (26,300 jobs). Minnesota added 36,800 jobs, or 1.2%. The District lost 25,800 jobs, or 3.5%, to a level of 719,900.
What the Seven Gaining States Add Up to
The seven states with significant 12-month job gains added a combined 504,900 jobs, a sum of the figures in the bureau’s release. The bureau’s national employment table shows seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment rose by 496,000, from 158.548 million to 159.044 million, over the same 12 months. The seven states alone therefore exceed the national gain by about 9,000 jobs, which means job changes in the other 43 states and the District roughly cancelled out.
Texas and California together account for 283,600 jobs, or 57% of the national 12-month gain. The state and national figures come from different samples and the state numbers will not sum exactly to the U.S. total, so the comparison shows scale and not an exact accounting.
Why Jobs and Unemployment Rates Can Point Different Ways
The two measures come from different surveys. Payroll counts come from a survey of employers and count jobs by the location of the employer. Unemployment rates are modeled mostly from a household survey and reflect where people live. The bureau lists both in the same release.
Several states in the table show the split. Texas added more jobs than any state, yet its unemployment rate went from 4.3% to 4.4% over the year. California added 129,300 jobs and its rate fell 0.4 point to 5.1%, which is still the second highest of any state. The District lost 3.5% of its jobs while its rate fell by a full point. The release does not explain any of these state patterns.
Connecticut’s Record Jobs and Rising Jobless Rate
Connecticut is the clearest case. The BLS puts its unemployment rate up 0.9 point over the year. The Connecticut Department of Labor said in its Oct. 19 report that employers added an estimated 1,400 jobs in September, to a record 1,731,600, and that private-sector employment also hit a record at 1,496,700. The department said the unemployment rate has held at 5.1% for six months and that claims are below a year ago.
The labor force grew by 3,500 in September, the state said. The state’s research director, Patrick Flaherty, said in the report, “Connecticut’s economy has been outperforming the national economy and September widened that gap.” The department said year-to-date job growth is 0.9%, more than twice the national rate of 0.4%.
The BLS does not list Connecticut among the states with a significant 12-month payroll change, and the state report does not give a year-ago unemployment rate. The two agencies agree on the current 5.1% rate. They differ in emphasis. The state describes a record-high job count, and the bureau describes the largest year-over-year increase in jobless rates among the states.
What Comes Next
The bureau will publish September metro-area figures on Oct. 28 and October state figures on Nov. 20. Its release notes that state data are revised once a year, and that employment estimates are adjusted annually to a complete count of jobs called benchmarks. These figures are preliminary.
