In general, the purpose of screening a potential job candidate is to ensure that the person who is hired is the most qualified for the job. At HRemploymentScreening.com, clients can order reliable employment screening that includes National Criminal Database Search, County Criminal Search, Sex Offender Registry Search, Driving Record Searches, Employment Verification, Education Verification, Reference Verification, and License Verification. Business owners, managers and human resources professionals often find that it is beneficial to have credible information prior to the employment screening process, which is why this resource page was created.
Below are the Employment Rates and Unemployment Rates from the U.S. Census as well as the Class of Worker Employment Status (Self-Employed, Government and Private)
Information and data about the employment rates and unemployment rate of every state in the country is listed on this page. The data was compiled from the United States Census Bureau, and represents the information that was collected during the 2010 Census. Understanding the employment rates and unemployment rates in the state in which the company resides can give an employer context before the hiring and background check process.
Some highlights of the data include:
- The employment rate in states ranged from 49.7% to 67.6%, and the unemployment rate ranges from 3.3% to 12.3%.
- The states with the highest employment rates are North Dakota (67.6%), Nebraska (66.3%), and Minnesota (65.7%).
- The states with the highest unemployment rate are Nevada (12.3%), Florida (11.5%), and California (11.4%).
Employment Rates and Unemployment Rate by State (2010 Census)
| Employed | Unemployed | Unemployed | Employed | |||||
| 1 | North Dakota | 67.6% | 3.3% | 1 | Puerto Rico | 17.3% | 37.4% | |
| 2 | Nebraska | 66.3% | 5.3% | 2 | Nevada | 12.3% | 56.8% | |
| 3 | Minnesota | 65.7% | 6.3% | 3 | Florida | 11.5% | 52.4% | |
| 4 | South Dakota | 65.3% | 4.7% | 4 | California | 11.4% | 56.1% | |
| 5 | Iowa | 64.1% | 5.3% | 5 | Michigan | 11.3% | 54.3% | |
| 6 | New Hampshire | 64.1% | 6.5% | 6 | Mississippi | 11.3% | 51.4% | |
| 7 | Utah | 63.9% | 6.8% | 7 | South Carolina | 11.2% | 53.4% | |
| 8 | Wyoming | 63.6% | 5.6% | 8 | Georgia | 11.0% | 55.4% | |
| 9 | Vermont | 62.9% | 6.4% | 9 | Oregon | 11.0% | 55.4% | |
| 10 | Colorado | 62.6% | 7.8% | 10 | North Carolina | 10.8% | 55.3% | |
| 11 | Maryland | 62.5% | 8.3% | 11 | Washington DC | 10.3% | 61.3% | |
| 12 | Alaska | 62.3% | 7.8% | 12 | New Mexico | 10.3% | 53.5% | |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 62.3% | 7.3% | 13 | Illinois | 10.2% | 59.3% | |
| 14 | Kansas | 62.2% | 6.5% | 14 | New Jersey | 10.1% | 59.4% | |
| 15 | Massachusetts | 61.6% | 8.5% | 15 | Alabama | 10.0% | 52.3% | |
| 16 | Washington DC | 61.3% | 10.3% | 16 | Arizona | 9.8% | 54.0% | |
| 17 | Connecticut | 60.8% | 9.7% | 17 | Connecticut | 9.7% | 60.8% | |
| 18 | Virginia | 60.2% | 6.9% | 18 | Tennessee | 9.5% | 55.0% | |
| 19 | Montana | 59.6% | 7.2% | 19 | Rhode Island | 9.4% | 59.6% | |
| 20 | Rhode Island | 59.6% | 9.4% | 20 | Kentucky | 9.3% | 53.8% | |
| 21 | New Jersey | 59.4% | 10.1% | 21 | New York | 9.2% | 57.5% | |
| 22 | Illinois | 59.3% | 10.2% | 22 | Ohio | 9.1% | 57.5% | |
| 23 | Texas | 59.2% | 8.0% | 23 | Pennsylvania | 8.9% | 57.2% | |
| 24 | Maine | 59.0% | 7.6% | 24 | Delaware | 8.8% | 58.2% | |
| 25 | Indiana | 58.6% | 8.8% | 25 | Indiana | 8.8% | 58.6% | |
| 26 | Idaho | 58.4% | 8.0% | 26 | Louisiana | 8.8% | 55.5% | |
| 27 | Washington | 58.4% | 8.7% | 27 | Washington | 8.7% | 58.4% | |
| 28 | Delaware | 58.2% | 8.8% | 28 | Missouri | 8.6% | 57.9% | |
| 29 | Missouri | 57.9% | 8.6% | 29 | Massachusetts | 8.5% | 61.6% | |
| 30 | Hawaii | 57.8% | 7.1% | 30 | Arkansas | 8.4% | 54.2% | |
| 31 | New York | 57.5% | 9.2% | 31 | Maryland | 8.3% | 62.5% | |
| 32 | Ohio | 57.5% | 9.1% | 32 | Idaho | 8.0% | 58.4% | |
| 33 | Pennsylvania | 57.2% | 8.9% | 33 | Texas | 8.0% | 59.2% | |
| 34 | Oklahoma | 57.0% | 6.8% | 34 | West Virginia | 8.0% | 49.7% | |
| 35 | Nevada | 56.8% | 12.3% | 35 | Alaska | 7.8% | 62.3% | |
| 36 | California | 56.1% | 11.4% | 36 | Colorado | 7.8% | 62.6% | |
| 37 | Louisiana | 55.5% | 8.8% | 37 | Maine | 7.6% | 59.0% | |
| 38 | Georgia | 55.4% | 11.0% | 38 | Wisconsin | 7.3% | 62.3% | |
| 39 | Oregon | 55.4% | 11.0% | 39 | Montana | 7.2% | 59.6% | |
| 40 | North Carolina | 55.3% | 10.8% | 40 | Hawaii | 7.1% | 57.8% | |
| 41 | Tennessee | 55.0% | 9.5% | 41 | Virginia | 6.9% | 60.2% | |
| 42 | Michigan | 54.3% | 11.3% | 42 | Oklahoma | 6.8% | 57.0% | |
| 43 | Arkansas | 54.2% | 8.4% | 43 | Utah | 6.8% | 63.9% | |
| 44 | Arizona | 54.0% | 9.8% | 44 | Kansas | 6.5% | 62.2% | |
| 45 | Kentucky | 53.8% | 9.3% | 45 | New Hampshire | 6.5% | 64.1% | |
| 46 | New Mexico | 53.5% | 10.3% | 46 | Vermont | 6.4% | 62.9% | |
| 47 | South Carolina | 53.4% | 11.2% | 47 | Minnesota | 6.3% | 65.7% | |
| 48 | Florida | 52.4% | 11.5% | 48 | Wyoming | 5.6% | 63.6% | |
| 49 | Alabama | 52.3% | 10.0% | 49 | Iowa | 5.3% | 64.1% | |
| 50 | Mississippi | 51.4% | 11.3% | 50 | Nebraska | 5.3% | 66.3% | |
| 51 | West Virginia | 49.7% | 8.0% | 51 | South Dakota | 4.7% | 65.3% | |
| 52 | Puerto Rico | 37.4% | 17.3% | 52 | North Dakota | 3.3% | 67.6% | |
HRemploymentScreening.com prides itself on accurate employment screening services and resources provided to clients such as the employment rates data and unemployment rate data in these resource pages. HRemploymentScreening.com looks forward to helping clients make informed hiring decisions when it comes to screening future employees. The company offers employment screening resources that help to provide context and also make the process of researching a job position quicker, easier and more convenient than ever before.
Data has been compiled on the class of worker (employed by private industry, the government, or self-employed) by state. The percentage of workers employed by private industry ranged from 67.5% to 84.3%. The states with the highest percentage of workers employed by private industry are Indiana (84.3%), Pennsylvania (83.6%), and Michigan (83.2%).
Employment Status by State (2010 Census)
| Employment Status: Class of Worker | ||||||
| Private | Government | Self-Employed | ||||
| Indiana | 2,532,489 | 84.3% | 323,978 | 10.8% | 141,724 | 4.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 4,960,839 | 83.6% | 657,264 | 11.1% | 303,973 | 5.1% |
| Michigan | 3,565,477 | 83.2% | 491,973 | 11.5% | 220,527 | 5.1% |
| Illinois | 4,960,918 | 82.3% | 774,614 | 12.8% | 286,994 | 4.8% |
| Wisconsin | 2,339,871 | 82.3% | 356,795 | 12.5% | 143,393 | 5.0% |
| Nevada | 1,011,282 | 82.2% | 153,078 | 12.4% | 64,674 | 5.3% |
| Minnesota | 2,283,922 | 82.0% | 336,098 | 12.1% | 163,061 | 5.9% |
| Ohio | 4,331,109 | 81.9% | 678,818 | 12.8% | 267,645 | 5.1% |
| Massachusetts | 2,713,058 | 81.4% | 417,770 | 12.5% | 200,499 | 6.0% |
| Rhode Island | 417,620 | 81.4% | 67,463 | 13.2% | 27,305 | 5.3% |
| Missouri | 2,239,703 | 81.0% | 355,790 | 12.9% | 164,113 | 5.9% |
| New Jersey | 3,407,080 | 81.0% | 589,307 | 14.0% | 204,574 | 4.9% |
| Florida | 6,696,992 | 80.9% | 1,077,744 | 13.0% | 491,098 | 5.9% |
| Delaware | 343,618 | 80.5% | 64,319 | 15.1% | 18,381 | 4.3% |
| Connecticut | 1,414,209 | 80.3% | 233,628 | 13.3% | 109,973 | 6.2% |
| Utah | 1,047,264 | 79.8% | 203,022 | 15.5% | 60,769 | 4.6% |
| Iowa | 1,237,779 | 79.5% | 212,789 | 13.7% | 102,824 | 6.6% |
| Colorado | 2,027,737 | 79.2% | 362,653 | 14.2% | 165,306 | 6.5% |
| Tennessee | 2,232,605 | 79.1% | 401,114 | 14.2% | 186,168 | 6.6% |
| Arizona | 2,179,758 | 79.0% | 409,982 | 14.9% | 163,931 | 5.9% |
| North Carolina | 3,373,485 | 79.0% | 634,163 | 14.9% | 253,999 | 6.0% |
| Georgia | 3,363,205 | 78.9% | 660,652 | 15.5% | 231,432 | 5.4% |
| New Hampshire | 546,146 | 78.9% | 94,594 | 13.7% | 50,648 | 7.3% |
| Texas | 9,255,144 | 78.9% | 1,667,483 | 14.2% | 790,028 | 6.7% |
| Kentucky | 1,470,567 | 78.7% | 290,465 | 15.5% | 103,681 | 5.6% |
| Louisiana | 1,573,418 | 78.6% | 315,224 | 15.7% | 110,374 | 5.5% |
| South Carolina | 1,577,325 | 78.6% | 318,230 | 15.9% | 109,309 | 5.4% |
| New York | 7,106,578 | 78.1% | 1,435,487 | 15.8% | 546,048 | 6.0% |
| Oregon | 1,357,949 | 78.1% | 239,990 | 13.8% | 138,131 | 7.9% |
| Nebraska | 745,199 | 77.9% | 140,051 | 14.6% | 69,244 | 7.2% |
| Alabama | 1,554,677 | 77.7% | 333,580 | 16.7% | 110,229 | 5.5% |
| California | 13,004,112 | 77.5% | 2,323,827 | 13.9% | 1,420,493 | 8.5% |
| Maine | 500,509 | 77.4% | 89,435 | 13.8% | 55,276 | 8.6% |
| Washington | 2,477,275 | 77.3% | 520,804 | 16.3% | 201,619 | 6.3% |
| Kansas | 1,071,524 | 76.8% | 237,622 | 17.0% | 82,773 | 5.9% |
| West Virginia | 576,303 | 76.6% | 141,793 | 18.8% | 33,580 | 4.5% |
| Idaho | 541,510 | 76.2% | 111,123 | 15.6% | 55,423 | 7.8% |
| Vermont | 248,515 | 76.2% | 45,645 | 14.0% | 31,024 | 9.5% |
| Oklahoma | 1,290,359 | 76.1% | 291,171 | 17.2% | 109,758 | 6.5% |
| South Dakota | 324,368 | 76.1% | 65,386 | 15.3% | 35,299 | 8.3% |
| Arkansas | 951,377 | 76.0% | 219,940 | 17.6% | 77,459 | 6.2% |
| Mississippi | 894,499 | 75.0% | 230,468 | 19.3% | 66,932 | 5.6% |
| North Dakota | 281,090 | 74.2% | 64,869 | 17.1% | 31,839 | 8.4% |
| Virginia | 2,921,835 | 74.2% | 805,644 | 20.5% | 206,471 | 5.2% |
| Maryland | 2,144,907 | 73.0% | 646,019 | 22.0% | 142,322 | 4.8% |
| Wyoming | 210,171 | 72.8% | 57,061 | 19.8% | 21,206 | 7.3% |
| Hawaii | 469,292 | 72.4% | 132,852 | 20.5% | 44,911 | 6.9% |
| Montana | 345,860 | 71.6% | 90,797 | 18.8% | 43,883 | 9.1% |
| New Mexico | 613,601 | 70.5% | 195,797 | 22.5% | 59,295 | 6.8% |
| Washington DC | 225,878 | 69.1% | 82,857 | 25.3% | 18,128 | 5.5% |
| Puerto Rico | 743,633 | 67.9% | 255,687 | 23.4% | 93,837 | 8.6% |
| Alaska | 237,316 | 67.5% | 91,227 | 26.0% | 22,407 | 6.4% |
HRemploymentScreening.com provides state employment screening background checks. We operate nationwide, are in full compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and are an active member with the National Association of Professional Background Screeners. Contact a company representative today and we will create an employment screening package with great rates. You can also get started by visiting the employment screening account webpage.
