March 1996 — 1996-05-01

Unemployment rates in March 1996 were unchanged from a month earlier in 15 states, lower in 18 states, and higher in 17 states and the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national unemployment rate was 5.6 percent in March, essentially unchanged from 5.5 percent in February. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 45 states over the month. Over-the-month changes were relatively small in March, as jobless rates in almost four-fifths of the states changed by 0.3 percentage point or less; no state experienced a change of as much as a full percentage point. Rhode Island had the largest decline (0.8 point), as its rate fell to 5.1 percent. The states jobless rate has dropped 2 full percentage points over the last 6 months.