States and the Employment-Population Ratio: BLS Releases 2022 Annual Averages

By SBE Council at 2 March, 2023, 4:16 pm

by Raymond J. Keating –

A key measure of the state of the labor market is the employment-population ratio, that is, the number of employed people as a percentage of the civilian noninstitutional population. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just released the “Regional and State Unemployment – 2022 Annual Averages” report, which includes employment-population ratios for all 50 states.

The following chart shows where each state’s employment-population ratio stood in 2022 (annual average) versus the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

	2019	2022
Alabama	56.3	55.5
Alaska	59.9	*62.6*
Arizona	59.2	59.3
Arkansas	56.1	55.6
California	59.9	59.3
Colorado	67.2	66.3
Connecticut	63.9	62.8
Delaware	60.2	57.7
Florida	57.5	57.6
Georgia	60.2	59.6
Hawaii	59.3	58.1
Idaho	62.6	61.4
Illinois	61.9	61.5
Indiana	62.4	61.6
Iowa	68.5	66.3
Kansas	64.6	64.6
Kentucky	56.8	55.6
Louisiana	55.8	56.5
Maine	60.5	56.8
Maryland	66.0	62.8
Massachusetts	65.8	62.7
Michigan	59.2	57.3
Minnesota	68.0	66.3
Mississippi	52.8	52.7
Missouri	62.0	61.1
Montana	60.6	*61.4*
Nebraska	67.8	*68.1*
Nevada	61.1	57.9
New Hampshire	67.3	64.5
New Jersey	61.3	*61.5*
New Mexico	55.4	54.2
New York	58.4	57.7
North Carolina	59.2	58.7
North Dakota	67.6	*67.8*
Ohio	60.2	59.0
Oklahoma	58.8	59.1
Oregon	59.4	*60.2*
Pennsylvania	60.4	59.1
Rhode Island	62.0	61.3
South Carolina	56.8	54.7
South Dakota	66.7	*66.8*
Tennessee	60.1	57.9
Texas	61.8	61.4
Utah	66.6	*67.1*
Vermont	64.5	61.5
Virginia	64.3	63.0
Washington	62.3	61.4
West Virginia	52.4	52.5
Wisconsin	64.8	63.1
Wyoming	62.6	61.4

US	60.8	60.0

Here are my takeaways on the data:

● First, the employment-population ratio for the U.S. in 2022 still hadn’t returned to the 2019 level.

● Second, only 13 states – Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia (stated in bold above) – experienced an employment-population ratio in 2022 that was higher than in 2019.

● Third, 27 states had employment-population ratios in 2022 higher than the U.S. level. West Virginia had the lowest at 52.5 percent, with Mississippi slightly ahead at 52.7 percent. Nebraska had the highest level of 68.1 percent, followed by North Dakota at 67.8 percent.

Just like policy issues at the federal level, state lawmakers need to examine tax and regulatory policies to assess if they’re encouraging or discouraging the entrepreneurship and investment that spur economic and employment growth, as well as policies that affect the incentives to work.

Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. His latest book is The Weekly Economist: 52 Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist.