August 1999 — 1999-09-17

Regional and State unemployment rates were generally stable in August. All four regions posted little change over the month, and 44 states 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 4.2 percent. Nonfarm employment rose in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The Midwest's unemployment rate, 3.5 percent in August, remained the lowest among the four regions. The West again recorded the highest rate, 4.8 percent. Compared with a year earlier, jobless rates were lower by 0.6 percentage point in the West and 0.4 point in the South. The Midwest and Northeast reported little change over the year. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, New England and the West North Central recorded the lowest unemployment rates, both 3.0 percent. The Pacific division again registered the highest rate, 5.1 percent.