November 1998 — 1998-12-18

Regional and state unemployment rates continued to be relatively stable in November. All four regions reported little or no change from October, and 47 states recorded 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 edged down to 4.4 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 39 states and the District of Columbia. The Midwest?s unemployment rate, 3.6 percent in November, remained the lowest among the four regions, while the West again recorded the highest rate, 5.1 percent. Compared with a year earlier, rates were lower by 0.7 percentage point in the Northeast, 0.3 point each in the Midwest and the South, and 0.2 point in the West. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central again reported the lowest unemployment rate, 3.0 percent. The Pacific division again had the highest rate, 5.6 percent.