1992 Regional and State Unemployment — 1993-03-03

Thirty-one states and the District of Columbia had higher annual average unemployment rates in 1992 than in 1991, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Ten states had unemployment rate increases of 1 percentage point or more in 1992, compared with 26 states and the District of Columbia in 1991. Jobless rates declined in 15 states in 1992 and were unchanged in 4 states. Nationally in 1992, the unemployment rate averaged 7.4 percent, up from 6.7 percent in 1991 and 5.5 percent in 1990. Unemployment rates rose in three of the four geographic regions of the country from 1991 to 1992 and was virtually unchanged in one, with the largest increases taking place in the West and Northeast. The rate jumped from 6.7 to 8.1 percent in the West, while it rose from 7.2 percent to the same level (8.1 percent) in the Northeast.