The Market Employment Summary for June 2022

Editor's Note: This report is based on survey data from May 2022 that was published in June 2022. This is the most recent data available. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

For the past three months in a row, the U.S. unemployment rate has held steady at 3.6%, hovering just above its lowest point in 50 years.  

Last month, that stability was further evidenced in the state-by-state data; 34 states saw no significant movement in their unemployment rates, while the remaining 16 states saw rate drops over the month.  

Unlike with the state unemployment rates, a few states saw the size of their total payrolls go down for the first time in months (Alaska, Michigan, and Wyoming). However, more than twice that many states saw their payrolls increase (Alabama, California, Georgia, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia), and the remainder saw no significant change.  

Below is the breakdown of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) market employment summary for June 2022.

States With the Highest Unemployment Rates

Washington, D.C., and New Mexico again reported the highest unemployment rates among states, just as they have consistently throughout 2022.

Unlike last month, which saw D.C. tighten the gap, this month’s report shows New Mexico brought down its unemployment rate by 0.2% to 5.1%, which is double the 0.1% rate drop D.C. registered on its way to 5.7%. It appears the gap is once again widening.

In total, a little less than half of the states had an unemployment rate that was lower than the U.S. average, with the remainder split in a two-to-one ratio between states reporting unemployment rates below the national average and those with rates above the national average.

States With the Lowest Unemployment Rates

Nebraska and Utah have reported the lowest unemployment rates among states for five consecutive months now; this month they are joined by Minnesota, which tied Utah’s reported 2% unemployment (Nebraska’s rate is 1.9%).  

In total, 16 states saw a meaningful decrease in their unemployment rate over the course of the month, with 25% of those states reporting rate reductions of 3% or greater.

The largest unemployment rate decrease over the year was registered by California at minus 3.6%. Nebraska had the smallest year-over-year reduction (minus 0.6%); this is largely because the state unemployment rate was already well below the national average more than a year ago.  

States With New Job Gains

Once again, population centers led the charge for the largest increases in total jobs on payrolls within their states. Texas added about 74k new jobs, California added about 43k new jobs, and New York added about 27k new jobs.

In terms of percentage growth, which is a far better metric for comparing areas with wildly different populations, West Virginia led the way with an increase of 1.3% in total jobs. Alabama followed with a 0.6% increase, alongside South Carolina and Texas.

Mployer Advisor’s Take:  

At the moment, the nation’s economic narrative continues to be one of stability and consistency–just as it has been for the past few months.  

However, looming larger on economists’ radars are inflation and the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hike–its highest rate increase since 1994. Although most economists are not predicting major economic issues through the end of the calendar year, beyond that there are certainly more questions than answers.

Looking for more exclusive content? Check out the Mployer Advisor blog, or review last month's market employment summary here. If you would like more specific market summary data, click here to learn more about Mployer Advisor's monthly Market Employment Summary report.

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