Unemployment in America Per US State

DAY ~17,000 (January 1976 to December 2022)

This is a dataset that tracks relevant population statistics and employment rates per US state since 1976.

All data are official figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that have been compiled and structured by myself. Besides the 50 US states, the unemployment data of three other areas are also being tracked in order to increase the analytical potential of the dataset: the District of Columbia, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan division, and New York City.

Why did I create this dataset? Employment continues to be a significant issue in America today and contributes to other predicaments such as the homelessness crisis. By uploading time-series data regarding American unemployment over the past four decades, I hope that the community is able to determine the various statistical trends offered. In my personal opinion, achieving a quantitative yet objective viewpoint of a subject such as unemployment is crucial to understanding the issues at hand.

Data Sources

The primary data source used was the Bureau of Labor Statistics's official website, which publishes employment data pertaining to America. Considering the meticulous documentation of federal statistics by such a accredited government agency, no other authority is more equipped to provide insight on US unemployment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics's Economic News Release on (Monthly) State Employment and Unemployment - The Bureau of Labor Statistics has published monthly updates on unemployment rates since January 1976.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics's State Employment and Unemployment Technical Note - The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a detailed overview of their unemployment data, the methodology behind their data, and the proper definitions and terminologies for the variables tracked. The guide mainly provided essential contextual knowledge needed to create a meaningful dataset.

Statistics Being Tracked

FIPS Code of State/Area
Year/Month of Statistic
Total Civilian Non-Institutional Population in State/Area
Total Civilian Labor Force in State/Area
Percent (%) of State/Area's Population
Total Employment in State/Area
Percent (%) of Labor Force Employed in State/Area
Total Unemployment in State/Area
Percent (%) of Labor Force Unemployed in State/Area

Dataset History

2023-03-01 - Dataset is created (17,227 days after temporal coverage start date).

Kaggle Dataset - The same data but on Kaggle.

Code Starter

Link to Notebook

justin-2028 / unemployment-in-america-per-us-state Goto Github PK