March 1998 — 1998-04-17

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally stable in March. All four regions reported little change from February, and 40 states and the District of Columbia 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 was essentially unchanged at 4.7 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states and the District of Columbia. The Midwest's unemployment rate, 3.7 percent in March, remained the lowest among the four regions. The West again recorded the highest rate, 5.2 percent. Over the year, rates declined by 0.7 percentage point in the South, by 0.6 point in the West, and by 0.5 point in both the Midwest and Northeast. (See table 1.) March jobless rates in the nine divisions followed a pattern similar to that of previous months. The West North Central division reported the lowest rate, 3.2 percent, and the Pacific division had the highest rate, 5.6 percent.