2007 Regional and State Unemployment — 2008-02-29

From 2006 to 2007, annual average unemployment rates declined in 28 states and the District of Columbia, rose in 16 states, and were unchanged in 6 states, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment-population ratios decreased in 28 states, increased in 17 states and the District of Columbia, and remained the same in 5 states. Among the four regions, jobless rates were down in two and up in two; employment-population ratios declined in 3 of the 4 regions in 2007. The annual average U.S. jobless rate was 4.6 percent in 2007 unchanged from 2006, while the national employment- population ratio was essentially unchanged at 63.0 percent. In 2007, the Midwest was the only region to post a statistically significant change in its annual average unemployment rate from 2006 (+0.1 percentage point).