Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2011-04-19

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in March. Thirty- four states recorded unemployment rate decreases, seven states registered rate increases, and nine states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, five states reported increases, and one state had no change. The national jobless rate was 8.8 percent in March, little changed from February but 0.9 percentage point lower than a year earlier. In March nonfarm payroll employment increased in 38 states and decreased in 12 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Texas (+37,200), Missouri (+24,300), Florida (+22,600), North Carolina (+13,900), and Oklahoma (+13,200). Missouri and Oklahoma experienced the largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment (+0.9 percent each), followed by Kentucky and Nevada (+0.7 percent each).