ZipRecruiter : Eight States Hit Their Lowest Unemployment Rates of All Time

December 17th State JOLTS and Unemployment Reports

Today's State JOLTS and State Employment and Unemployment reports show that unemployment is in free fall in most U.S. states. Eight states hit new individual record lows. At the same time, the number of job openings increased in 15 states. Rising openings and falling unemployment signal that labor shortages will continue to be a major concern for businesses through 2022.

Here are three key takeaways from today's reports:

1. Eight states hit their lowest unemployment rates on record

The overall unemployment rate in the U.S. declined sharply from 4.6% to 4.2% in November, and the improvements were broadly distributed. 48 states saw their unemployment rates fall. Arkansas (3.4%), Georgia (2.8%), Montana (2.8%), Nebraska (1.8%), Oklahoma (2.5%), Utah (2.1%), West Virginia (4.0%), and Wisconsin (3.0%) respectively hit their new record lows. Nebraska's 1.8% unemployment rate is the lowest for any state on record.

2. Nebraska has the tightest labor market in the country followed by Utah

As of the most recent nationwide reports, there are 11 million job openings right now, but only 6.9 million unemployed people are actively seeking them. Historically, there have been 2.4 unemployed people per opening, on average. But now, there are only 0.6. In other words, there are two unemployed people for every three job openings. In many states, however, employers are facing even tougher odds.

In Nebraska, for example, there are only 0.25 unemployed people per job opening. That's the lowest ratio ever recorded at the state level. Labor markets are similarly tight in Utah (0.3), Georgia (0.34), and Oklahoma (0.36).

3. Georgia, Montana, and Kentucky are the best states to be a job seeker in the U.S. right now

ZipRecruiter ranked the best states to be a job seeker in the U.S. right now, based on the highest number of job openings per unemployed person, highest number of hires per job opening, and highest job openings rates (a ratio of job openings to the overall size of the workforce).

Georgia, Montana, and Kentucky claimed the top spots this month. Georgia and Kentucky have the highest job openings rates in the country with 8.6 and 8.4, respectively, offering plenty of job opportunities to the historically low number of unemployed people in each state.