Minnesota Has 2nd Largest Decrease in Unemployment in U.S. Since Obama Took Office

Seven-state West North Central geographical division of the Midwest continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation

Although Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 7.6 percent for the month of October, the Gopher State’s trend in jobless claims has generally been headed in the right direction since President Barack Obama took office, particularly when compared to most other states in the country.

A Smart Politics analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data finds that Minnesota’s unemployment rate has decreased at the second highest clip in the nation since Obama’s first full month in office at the White House in February 2009.

Since February, the state’s jobless rate has seen a net decrease of 0.4 points, from 8.0 to 7.6 percent. This 5.0 percent decline in unemployment in Minnesota is second in the nation only to Vermont’s 8.5 percent drop.

Only two other states, Colorado (-4.2 percent) and North Dakota (-2.3 percent), have experienced a net decrease in the rate of unemployment during this 9 month span, with Virginia even at 0.0 and the 45 other states seeing a net increase in unemployment from February to October.

California, Delaware, Florida, and South Carolina are currently enduring the highest unemployment rates on record for those respective states, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data going back to January 1976 (so too is the District of Columbia).

Overall, Minnesota currently has the 17th lowest unemployment rate in the nation, and its 2.6-point differential against the national average (10.2 percent) is the largest for the Gopher State in more than 17 years (July 1992).

Even though Minnesota’s neighboring state of Iowa has the 8th lowest jobless rate in the nation, it has experienced the fourth largest rate of increase since February – a 36.7 percent rise in unemployment claims from 4.9 to 6.7 percent.

Statewide Average Change in Unemployment Rate, February-October 2009

Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by Smart Politics.

Despite being home to the beleaguered state of Michigan, which has the highest unemployment rate in the U.S at 15.1 percent, the greater 12-state Midwest Region (Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan) has the lowest jobless rate in the nation with a statewide average of 8.3 percent – up 13.7 percent from February (7.3 percent).

The 16-state Southern Region continues to have the highest such rate in the country, with a statewide average of 9.3 percent. However, it is the 13-state Western Region that has endured the largest percentage uptick since Obama took office, at 20.3 percent.

Statewide Average Change in Unemployment Rate by Geographical Region, February-October 2009

Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by Smart Politics.

The 7-state West North Central Division of the Midwest Region in which Minnesota is located (along with Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and the Dakotas) also has by far the lowest unemployment rate in the country, at 6.4 percent – with the next lowest division being the West South Central states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas at 7.6 percent.

The highest geographical divisional rate comes in the neighboring East North Central states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, whose statewide average jobless rate of 11.0 percent continues to be the largest in the nation.

Minnesota’s West North Central Division has also experienced the lowest rate of change since February, with an average increase of 10.3 percent in each of its member states.

The Mountain States (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming) have seen an increase of almost three times that amount, at 27.7 percent.

Statewide Average Change in Unemployment Rate by Geographical Division, February-October 2009

Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by Smart Politics.

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