For the second month in a row, New Jersey’s 5.4% unemployment rate ranked the second highest among the 50 states, exceeded only by California, according to the December unemployment data released Tuesday by the federal government.
The states with the lowest unemployment rates in December were Hawaii and South Dakota (both 2.2%) followed by North Dakota and Vermont (both 2.6%), and Alabama (2.7%). The national unemployment rate was 4.4%.
The five states with the worst unemployment rates, all significantly above the national average, were California (5.5%), New Jersey (5.4%), Oregon, Nevada, and Delaware (all 5.2%). The District of Columbia, where 34,000 jobs have been lost since December 2024, had the worst unemployment rate (6.7%) anywhere in the United States.
The number of nonfarm payroll jobs was essentially unchanged nationwide between the months of November and December.
Year over year, payroll employment was up in eight states and essentially unchanged in 42 states. The largest 12-month job gains occurred in Texas (+132,000); North Carolina (+80,700); Pennsylvania (+76,600); New York (+73,900) and Missouri (+52,800).
New Jersey had a net gain of +9,000 nonfarm payroll jobs over 12 months.
States with significant year-over-year net job losses included Maryland (-12,400); the state of Washington (-12,200); Virginia (-11,700), California (-11,200); and Nevada (-9,000).
