Which U.S. job sectors have the lowest unemployment rate in the first half of 2024?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides monthly data on unemployment rate in the United States, as well as information regarding new jobs created in the country.

According to the latest report, which shows data for May, total non-agricultural employment increased by 272,000. The unemployment rate changed slightly to 4%, and this is a higher result than in the same period last year, as in May 2023 it amounted to 3.7%.

The industries that gained the most jobs last month included health care, government, leisure and hospitality, and professional, scientific and technical services. Which industries have the lowest unemployment rate?

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Industries with a low unemployment rate

According to the BLS Labor Force Statistics report, the industries with the lowest unemployment rates in May were social and social service occupations (1.2%), legal professions (1.4%), health care workers and technical occupations (1.5%), education, training and professions related to librarianship (1.7%), architecture and engineering (1.8%), and managerial professions (1.9%).

At the other end of the scale, are the professions with the highest unemployment rate occupations related to agriculture, fishing and forestry (10.7%), occupations related to food preparation and services (6.5%), and occupations related to the transport and movement of materials (5.7%).

Unemployment rate for various population groups

According to the BLS jobs report, these are unemployment rates among the main groups of employees: adult males (3.8%), adult females (3.4%), adolescents (12.3%), whites (3.5%), blacks (6.1%), Asians (3.1%) and Latino (5.0%).

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Countries with the lowest and highest unemployment rates

In April, North Dakota and South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rates 2.0% each. The next lowest rate was in Vermont at 2.1%.

On the other hand, California had the highest unemployment rate at 5.3%, closely followed by the District of Columbia at 5.2% and Nevada at 5.1%. In all, about 20 states have unemployment rates well below the national rate, while five states and the District of Columbia have higher unemployment rates.