Unemployment Below 5% in Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming and Vermont

Most of these states are clustered in the sparsely populated Plains where fracking and other energy extraction has driven state GDP up by extraordinary amount. There are barely any free to be hired in North Dakota, where the unemployment rate is 3.3%. The state is often called the fracking capital of the world. It has only 672,000 residents.

South Dakota’s rates is 4.4% in a state with only 833,000 people. Wyoming’s is 4.9% against its 563,000 people. In the Midwest, Nebraska’s is 3.8% against its population of 1,833,000. And, in the Northeast, Vermont’s is 4.4% against a population of 626,000.

The most notable thing about theses states, and the one aspect of their unemployment rates which is misleading, is that, among the, they have a total population less than Wisconsin’s.

A look across all the states by unemployment rate for January as reported by the BLS:

United States (1) ……………….| 7.7 | Alaska …………………………| 6.5 California ……………………..| 9.6 Georgia ………………………..| 8.6 Hawaii …………………………| 5.2 Idaho ………………………….| 6.2 Illinois ……………………….| 9.5 Indiana ………………………..| 8.7 Iowa …………………………..| 5.0 Kansas …………………………| 5.5 Louisiana ………………………| 6.0 | Maryland ……………………….| 6.6 Massachusetts …………………..| 6.5 Michigan ……………………….| 8.8 Minnesota ………………………| 5.5 Mississippi …………………….| 9.6 Missouri ……………………….| 6.7 Montana ………………………..| 5.6 Nebraska ……………………….| 3.8 Nevada …………………………| 9.6 New Hampshire …………………..| 5.8 | New Jersey ……………………..| 9.3 New York ……………………….| 8.4 North Carolina ………………….| 9.4 North Dakota ……………………| 3.3 Ohio …………………………..| 7.0 Oklahoma ……………………….| 5.0 Rhode Island ……………………| 9.4 South Dakota ……………………| 4.4 Texas ………………………….| 6.4 Utah …………………………..| 5.2 | Vermont ………………………..| 4.4 Virginia ……………………….| 5.6 Wyoming ………………………..| 4.99