Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: September 2002 — 2002-10-22

Most regional and state unemployment rates were stable from August to September and remained higher than a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. All four regions recorded little or no change from August. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia reported shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, including 12 with no rate change at all. The national jobless rate was essentially unchanged at 5.6 percent in September. Nonfarm employment decreased in 26 states and the District of Columbia in September. In September, the Midwest and Northeast regions recorded the lowest unemployment rates, 5.2 percent each. The South closely followed with a rate of 5.3 percent, while the West continued to post the highest rate, 6.1 percent. Over the year, all four regions reported rate increases, ranging from 0.3 percentage point in the South to 0.6 point in the West.