Not so long ago, many economists and very smart people were predicting an economic recession would take place in the summer of 2023, but in reality, the unemployment rate fell in seven states between June and July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. In most of the other states, the labor market remained strong.
The state with the lowest unemployment rate was New Hampshire, with a rate of 1.7%. Most states sit at or below the historically-low national unemployment rate of 3.5%, while 14 states, Puerto Rico and D.C. are above. Employment rose in four states—Vermont, Hawaii, Florida and Indiana—from the previous month. Employment in 46 states and D.C. was essentially unchanged, with the absolute number of new jobs or job losses being statistically insignificant.
The data are drawn from two different surveys. The unemployment rate is from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program, which is a household survey. While data on nonfarm payroll employment is based on a survey of employers and establishments. To get another glimpse of the employment situation, see MarketWatch’s interactive that breaks down nonfarm employment by industry.