The unemployment rate in 39 states fell in December and only rose in two, though most of the drops could be accounted for mainly by those dropping out of the labor market. States such as New Jersey can attribute almost its entire drop in its unemployment rate to people dropping out of the job market. Only 30 states added jobs, which is the fewest since August, and nineteen reported losses. Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate of any state with 9.1%, replacing Nevada at 8.8%. North Dakota maintains the lowest unemployment rate at 2.6%.
See "Unemployment rates fall in 39 states last month", Christopher Rugaber, KOMO News, January 28, 2014