January 1995 — 1995-03-09

Unemployment rates in January 1995 were lower than a month earlier in 34 states and the District of Columbia, higher in 13 states, and unchanged in 3 states, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national unemployment rate was 5.7 percent, up from 5.4 percent in the previous month. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 28 states over the month. Three states--Louisiana, Maine, and Mississippi--experienced over-the- month drops in their unemployment rates of 1.0 percentage point or more. Jobless rates in Arizona and Idaho decreased 0.9 percentage point, while Wisconsin's rate declined 0.8 point. New Jersey had the largest over-the- month increase, 1.0 percentage point, followed closely by Michigan, up 0.9 percentage point. Comparing unemployment rates in January 1995 to a year earlier, all states except Hawaii, New Jersey, and Utah experienced decreases.