The national jobless rate continues to hover above 6% and, based on several government forecasts, will not drop below the 5% that marks a complete economic recovery for several years. However, there are 14 states with unemployment under 5%, and in several of these, the figure has fallen below 4%, according to July Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. These states have a few things in common.

States with unemployment less than 4% are all in the Plains, with the exception of Vermont (3.7%) in the far Northeast. Among them are North Dakota (2.8%), South Dakota (3.7%), Nebraska (3.6%) and Utah at (3.6%). Each is sparsely populated, and most have energy industries that have had strong growth in the past three or four years.

Most of the states with unemployment below 5% are also in the central United States. These include Wyoming (4.4%), Oklahoma (4.6%), Idaho (4.8%), Iowa (4.5%), Kansas (4.9%), Minnesota (4.5%) and Montana (4.6%). Vermont’s neighbor, New Hampshire has an unemployment rate of 4.4%. Hawaii (4.4%) is the only state that falls outside the two regions.

In all probability, the states in the Plains have the advantage not only of the energy industry but the fact that their employment is dominated by just one or two other sectors. In most cases this is mining, agriculture or timber. Several of these states also have low tax rates for businesses and individuals.

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Many states, according to BLS data for July, that have strong employment numbers continue to improve:

The largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment occurred in Montana (+0.7 percent), followed by Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, and Utah (+0.5 percent each). The largest over-the-month percentage decline in employment occurred in West Virginia (-0.4 percent), followed by Maryland (-0.3 percent) and Ohio and South Carolina (-0.2 percent each).Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 49 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in Alaska (-0.7 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage increase occurred in North Dakota (+4.4 percent), followed by Nevada (+3.8 percent) and Utah (+3.6 percent).

The most fortunate states based on unemployment generally get more fortunate by the month.

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