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These states have the lowest unemployment rate

These states have the lowest unemployment rate
Posted at 3:41 PM, May 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-12 15:41:41-04

The state of the nation's unemployment rate has taken an encouraging turn for the better since the peak of the Great Recession. It currently sits at 5 percent after soaring all the way to 10 percent in October 2009. Though the country's job creation slowed in April — 160,000 jobs were created, the lowest total since Sept. 2015 — the unemployment rate remained unchanged.

Previously, CareerTrends examined the 19 states with unemployment rates higher than the national average. Now, we take a look at the 31 states with unemployment rates under 5 percent. Data reported is from March 2016 and reflects each state's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate, total employed and total unemployed workers, as shown by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This attempts to "remove the influences of predictable seasonal patterns to reveal how employment and unemployment change from month to month."

Of the 31 states on the list, 13 have unemployment rates under 4 percent, including New England states Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. Topping the list are four states with unemployment rates under 3 percent.

#31. Indiana

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.97 percent
Total employed: 3.17 million
Total unemployed: 166,155

#30. Pennsylvania

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.871 percent
Total employed: 6.18 million
Total unemployed: 316,685

#29. Florida

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.87 percent
Total employed: 9.33 million
Total unemployed: 477,694

#28. New York

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.85 percent
Total employed: 9.33 million
Total unemployed: 475,433

#27. Michigan

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.78 percent
Total employed: 4.62 million
Total unemployed: 232,260

#26. Maryland

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.67 percent
Total employed: 3.03 million
Total unemployed: 148,102

#25. Oregon

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.53 percent
Total employed: 1.94 million
Total unemployed: 91,949

#24. Tennessee

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.52 percent
Total employed: 3 million
Total unemployed: 141,921

#23. Wisconsin

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.47 percent
Total employed: 3 million
Total unemployed: 140,487

#22. Delaware

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.39 percent
Total employed: 458,828
Total unemployed: 21,084

#21. New Jersey

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.38 percent
Total employed: 4.38 million
Total unemployed: 200,603

#20. Oklahoma

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.37 percent
Total employed: 1.79 million
Total unemployed: 81,745

#19. Massachusetts

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.35 percent
Total employed: 3.43 million
Total unemployed: 155,800

#18. Texas

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.349 percent
Total employed: 12.7 million
Total unemployed: 577,214

#17. Montana

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.27 percent
Total employed: 502,525
Total unemployed: 22,410

#16. Missouri

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.18 percent
Total employed: 3.03 million
Total unemployed: 132,303

#15. Arkansas

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.05 percent
Total employed: 1.3 million
Total unemployed: 55,007

#14. Virginia

March 2016 unemployment rate: 4.04 percent
Total employed: 4.07 million
Total unemployed: 171,465

#13. Kansas

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.95 percent
Total employed: 1.45 million
Total unemployed: 59,721

#12. Iowa

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.81 percent
Total employed: 1.65 million
Total unemployed: 65,289

#11. Idaho

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.79 percent
Total employed: 775,922
Total unemployed: 30,557

#10. Minnesota

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.74 percent
Total employed: 2.95 million
Total unemployed: 114,858

#9. Utah

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.46 percent
Total employed: 1.43 million
Total unemployed: 51,380

#8. Maine

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.41 percent
Total employed: 651,348
Total unemployed: 22,996

#7. Vermont

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.32 percent
Total employed: 333,055
Total unemployed: 11,422

#6. Hawaii

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.12 percent
Total employed: 668,787
Total unemployed: 21,531

#5. North Dakota

March 2016 unemployment rate: 3.1 percent
Total employed: 404,418
Total unemployed: 12,952

#4. Nebraska

March 2016 unemployment rate: 2.99 percent
Total employed: 988,682
Total unemployed: 30,503

#3. Colorado

March 2016 unemployment rate: 2.91 percent
Total employed: 2.79 million
Total unemployed: 83,661

#2. New Hampshire

March 2016 unemployment rate: 2.59 percent
Total employed: 724,893
Total unemployed: 19,297

#1. South Dakota

March 2016 unemployment rate: 2.55 percent
Total employed: 442,900
Total unemployed: 11,569