Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2008-06-20

Virtually all regional and state jobless rates increased in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor re- ported today. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia re- corded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, while one state had a rate decrease. Over the year, jobless rates were up in 44 states and the District of Columbia and down in 6 states. The national unemployment rate rose from 5.0 in April to 5.5 percent in May, a full percentage point higher than a year earlier. Between April and May 2008, employment increased in 29 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 17 states, and was unchanged in 4 states. Ohio reported the largest over-the-month increase in employment (+9,200), followed by Texas (+8,800), Michigan (+6,100), Iowa (+4,100), Illinois (+4,000), and Hawaii and Oklahoma (+3,900 each).