PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota and New Hampshire have broken the record for the lowest unemployment rate in United States history with a rate of 1.8% last month (June 2023). According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the previous record low– reached by multiple states– was 1.9%.
The next lowest jobless rates were in Nebraska and Vermont at 1.9% each. The average for the US last month was 3.6%.
South Dakota and New Hampshire, along with Arkansas (2.6%), Maryland (2.0%), Massachusetts (2.6%), Mississippi (3.1%), Ohio (3.4%), Oklahoma (2.7%) and Pennsylvania (3.8%) all set new series lows. (All state series begin in 1976.)
On the other end of the spectrum, Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in the US at 5.4%. In total, 22 states had unemployment rates lower than
the US figure of 3.6%, three states and the District of Columbia had higher rates and 25 states had rates that were not much different from that of the nation.
South Dakota has more than 24,000 job openings and recently began a nationwide workforce recruiting campaign called “Freedom Works Here.” A third ad in the series was released this week.
