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
