Thousands of Americans lose their jobs

Last month, about 160,000 workers in the United States became unemployed, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This development contributed to the jobless rate ticking up to 4.1 percent.

In June 2024, there were 6.8 million Americans who were unemployed compared to 6.65 million in May who were not working, the government data showed. This unemployment data, however, differs from state to state.

The BLS revealed on Friday that the unemployment rate jumped in eight states, declined in one, and stayed stable in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

South Dakota boasted the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2 percent, followed by its neighbor, North Dakota, at 2.1 percent, along with Vermont also at 2.1 percent.

Washington, D.C., had the country’s highest unemployment rate at 5.4 percent in June. California and Nevada were next at 5.2 percent.

“In total, 26 states had unemployment rates lower than the U.S. figure of 4.1 percent, 4 states and the District had higher rates, and 20 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation,” the BLS said in a statement.

Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, and South Carolina had the largest increase in unemployment rates, at 0.2 percentage points each, along with Georgia, Minnesota, and Utah, at +0.1 points each.

Connecticut registered the only rate decrease of 0.4 percentage points. Meanwhile, “41 states and the District of Columbia had jobless rates that were not notably different from those of a month earlier,” the BLS statement said.

Rhode Island reported the largest jump in the unemployment rate from the same time a year ago at nearly 2 percent. Seventeen states had unemployment rates that were “not notably different” from last June.

The BLS noted that nonfarm payroll employment increased in 8 states and remained essentially unchanged in 42 states and Washington, D.C., last month. Looking at the entire year, those stats showed an increase in 27 states. Nonfarm payroll employment stayed “essentially unchanged” in 23 states and D.C.

According to the BLS statement, the largest job improvements in June were in North Carolina, with 23,100 jobs; Massachusetts, with 19,000 jobs; and Virginia, with 15,000 jobs. The greatest percentage increases in job improvements occurred in Arkansas, New Hampshire, and New Mexico, at 0.6 percent each.

In the past year, Texas led the country in adding 267,400 jobs, followed by California, with 223,600 jobs added, and Florida, with 196,900 jobs added, according to the BLS.

The most significant percentage increases in jobs added occurred in South Carolina (+3.5 percent), Missouri (+3.2 percent), and Nevada (+3.1 percent), the BLS said.