2010 Regional and State Unemployment — 2011-02-25

Annual average unemployment rates in 2010 rose in 31 states and the District of Columbia, declined in 18 states, and remained the same in 1 state, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment-population ratios decreased in 43 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 3 states, and were unchanged in 4 states. Jobless rates increased in three regions and decreased in one, and employment-population ratios declined in all four regions in 2010. The U.S. jobless rate rose by 0.3 percentage point from the prior year to 9.6 percent, while the national employment-population ratio fell by 0.8 point to 58.5 percent. Three of the 4 regions posted statistically significant unemployment rate changes from 2009, all of which were increases. The West experienced the largest rise (+0.9 percentage point), followed by the South (+0.4 point) and Northeast (+0.3 point).