February 2000 — 2000-03-28

Regional and state unemployment rates were stable in February. All four regions posted little or no change over the month, and 46 states recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. For the second straight month, all regions, divisions, and states registered unemployment rates below 6.0 percent. The national jobless rate was virtually unchanged at 4.1 percent. Nonfarm employment increased in 38 states. At the regional level, the Midwest continued to record the lowest unemployment rate, 3.3 percent, while the West again had the highest rate, 4.4 percent. Over the year, rates declined in all regions, with the West and Northeast experiencing the largest decreases, -0.8 and -0.5 percentage point, respectively. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central again recorded the lowest jobless rate, 2.6 percent in February.