WASHINGTON – The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) today released a report aggregating the April statistics on jobs, unemployment and earnings, along with data on housing prices, housing starts, state GDP and exports.

Prepared by the Democratic staff of the JEC, the report allows for state-by-state comparisons across a variety of economic statistics. The numbers show further evidence of the steady and strong recovery from the Great Recession. In April, private-sector employment increased in 32 states and the District of Columbia, and the unemployment rate fell in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

The report also shows that average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, have increased in 40 states over the past year.

“The April numbers show that our economy continues on the right track,” JEC Ranking Member Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) said. “The steady job growth and higher wages mean more money in the pockets of America’s workers. But, despite this recovery, some members of Congress and candidates for office are calling for a return to the economic policies that brought us the worst recession since the Great Depression.”

Highlights from the current report include:    

• Private-sector employment increased in 32 states and the District of Columbia in April.
• The unemployment rate fell in 19 states and the District of Columbia in April; 29 states had an unemployment rate below the national rate of 5.0 percent.
• Average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, increased in 40 states over the past year.
• California, Florida and Texas had the largest gains in private-sector jobs over the past year.
• Kentucky, Arkansas and Delaware had the largest statistically significant drops in their unemployment rates.
• Average hourly earnings increased most on a percentage basis in Delaware, Connecticut and North Carolina over the past year.

Click here to download the full report.

 

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