July 1998 — 1998-08-21

Regional and state unemployment rates were relatively stable in July. All four regions reported virtually no change over the month, as 42 states and the District of Columbia 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 remained at 4.5 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 26 states. The Midwest continued to report the lowest unemployment rate among the four regions, 3.7 percent in July, while the West once again had the highest rate, 5.1 percent. Over the year, all regions reported rate declines, with the Northeast and the South recording the largest decreases, -0.8 and -0.7 percent, respectively. (See table 1.) Among the nine divisions, the West North Central division reported the lowest rate, 3.0 percent, and the Pacific division had the highest rate, 5.5 percent. No division had a change of more than 0.2 percentage point in either direction from June to July.