Maryland posted the lowest jobless rate among all US states in August at 1.7%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Sept. 19. The next lowest rates were in New Hampshire and Vermont at 1.8% each.

Maryland also posted its lowest jobless rate since 1976, along with Louisiana, 3.3%, and North Dakota, 1.9%.

Nevada posted the highest unemployment rate among all states in August at 5.4%.

In total, 27 states had unemployment rates lower than the US figure of 3.8%, two states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, and 21 states had rates that were not appreciably different from the national figure.

Maryland posted the largest year-over-year jobless rate decrease among all states in August, down 1.7 percentage points to 1.7%.

Meanwhile, New Jersey had the largest year-over-year unemployment rate increase in July, up 1.2 percentage points to 4.2%.