February 1998 — 1998-03-20

Regional and state unemployment rates remained generally stable in February. All four regions recorded virtually no change over the month, while 44 states registered shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national jobless rate was essentially unchanged at 4.6 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 40 states. Among the regions, the Midwest continued to report the lowest unemployment rate, 3.7 percent in February, while the West again had the highest rate, 5.1 percent. The South recorded the lowest jobless rate in its series, 4.3 percent. (Virtually all regional and state series begin in 1978.) Compared with last February, the South and West both recorded decreases of 0.8 percentage point, and the Midwest and Northeast experienced declines of 0.6 point each. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central posted the lowest unemployment rate (3.0 percent).