Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: January 2007 — 2007-03-08

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in January. Overall, 26 states and the District of Columbia recorded over- the-month unemployment rate decreases, 18 states registered increases, and 6 states had no change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Depart- ment of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates were down in 36 states, up in 10 states and the District of Columbia, and unchanged in 4 states. The national unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in January at 4.6 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 36 states and decreased in 14 states and the District of Columbia in January. The largest employment gains occurred in Illinois (+19,900), Arizona (+16,900), Georgia (+16,100), New York (+15,600), Minnesota (+13,100), and North Carolina (+12,700). Montana posted the largest percentage increase in employment (+0.7 percent), followed by Arizona (+0.6 percent), Minnesota (+0.5 percent), and Georgia, Kansas, New Mexico, and Utah (+0.4 percent each).