Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2009-03-11

Regional and state unemployment rates were nearly all higher in January. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia recorded over- the-month unemployment rate increases, while all states and the Dis- trict of Columbia had higher rates than a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national unemployment rate rose from 7.2 percent in December to 7.6 percent in January and was 2.7 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In January, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 42 states, increased in 7 states as well as the District of Columbia, and was unchanged in 1 state (Vermont). The largest over-the-month decreases in the level of employment were recorded in California (-79,300), Michigan (-60,800), Ohio (-59,600), and Texas (-50,600). Michigan (-1.5 percent) reported the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment, followed by Arizona and Ohio (-1.1 percent each) and Nevada (-1.0 percent).