Nationally, the rate of unemployment continues to hover around a 7-year low. In fact, the seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending May 24 was 2.6 million. That marked the lowest amount of persons on unemployment since October 27, 2007.
The seasonally adjusted insured national unemployment rate was 2%, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. In the week ending May 17, there were 2.51 million people claiming unemployment benefits. It was almost double that in 2013, when there were 4.64 million people claiming unemployment.
Some states shared in the good news, while others are having a tougher time. There are 33 states where the unemployment rate is under the national average and 14 where the unemployment is above the national average.
In fact, there are seven states where the unemployment rate is at 1% or under. Here are the states with the lowest unemployment rates:
- Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia all have unemployment rates of 1%.
- The job market is even better in Nebraska, where the unemployment rate is 0.8%.
- The best job market in the country is in the Dakotas. North and South Dakota both have unemployment rates of 0.4%.
On the other end of the scale, the unemployment rate is above the national average in 14 states. Here are the states with the highest unemployment rates:
- West Virginia, New York, and Maryland all have employment rates of 2.1%.
- Oregon and Rhode Island both are at 2.2%, while Massachusetts is at 2.3%.
- Illinois is at 2.5%, Nevada is at 2.6%, and Pennsylvania and Connecticut are 2.8%.
- New Jersey and California are at 2.9%, while Puerto Rico is 3%.
- The state with the highest rate of unemployment is Alaska, where unemployment more than doubles the national average at 4.3%.
