June 2001 — 2001-07-20

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally stable in June. All four regions recorded little or no change from May, and 45 states reported 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 little changed at 4.5 percent in June. Nonfarm employment increased in 27 states and the District of Columbia in June. In June, the Midwest, Northeast, and South each registered an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, while the West reported a rate of 4.9 percent. Over the year, the largest increases in jobless rates occurred in the Midwest, 0.5 percentage point, and Northeast, 0.3 point. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, New England continued to report the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2 percent in June, with the West North Central division registering the next lowest rate, 3.5 percent. The Pacific division posted the highest jobless rate, 5.2 percent.