Several states experiencing an acute shortage of dental practitioners are also struggling with unemployment.
Of the 10 states the Kaiser Family Foundation listed as having the greatest shortage of dental practitioners, six have unemployment rates higher than the national average of 3.2 percent.
In September, the Kaiser Family Foundation examined states facing a shortage of dental practitioners. For an area to be considered as having a shortage of dental providers, the population-to-provider ratio must be at least 5,000 to 1, or 4,000 to 1 if there are unusually high needs in the community.
And in July, personal finance website WalletHub analyzed changes in unemployment rates throughout the U.S. Read more about its methodology here.
Here are the 10 states with the highest number of practitioners needed to remove the health professional shortage area designation from high to low along with their unemployment rate as of June:
1. Florida — 1,268
Unemployment rate: 2.8 percent
2. New York — 656
Unemployment rate: 4.4 percent
3. North Carolina — 620
Unemployment rate: 3.4 percent
4. Illinois — 465
Unemployment rate: 4.5 percent
5. Texas — 445
Unemployment rate: 4.1 percent
6. Georgia — 432
Unemployment rate: 2.9 percent
7. Tennessee — 405
Unemployment rate: 3.3 percent
8. Arizona — 399
Unemployment rate: 3.3 percent
9. Alabama — 376
Unemployment rate: 2.6 percent
10. Missouri — 365
Unemployment rate: 2.8 percent