June 1996 — 1996-07-31

Unemployment rates in most states were little changed in June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Forty-three states recorded changes of 0.3 percentage point or less. The national jobless rate dropped to 5.3 percent in June from 5.6 percent in May. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 39 states in June. Unemployment rates were lower in June than in the previous month in 23 states and the District of Columbia, higher in 17 states, and unchanged in 10 states. The District of Columbia posted the largest decrease, dropping a full percentage point to 8.0 percent. Four states (Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Nevada) reported decreases in their jobless rates of more than 0.5 percentage point. In addition, four of the states that had small over-the-month declines--Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin--reported rates that were the lowest in their series (which began in 1978).