Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: January 2003 — 2003-03-20

Most state unemployment rates declined in January, as did the rates for all four regions and nine geographic divisions, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national jobless rate decreased to 5.7 percent in January. Nonfarm employment increased in 25 states and the District of Columbia in January. Among the four regions, the Midwest recorded the lowest unemployment rate in January, 5.3 percent, followed by the South, 5.4 percent. The West continued to report the highest rate, 6.2 percent, although its rate was down 0.3 percentage point from December. The remaining three regions posted smaller over-the-month jobless rate decreases. Over the year, only the Northeast had an increase in its unemployment rate (+0.3 percentage point), as the other three regions had small declines.