May 2000 — 2000-06-16

Regional and state unemployment rates were relatively stable in May. All four regions registered little or no change over the month, and 41 states and the District of Columbia recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national jobless rate edged upward to 4.1 percent. Nonfarm employment increased in 36 states in May. In May, the Midwest continued to have the lowest unemployment rate, 3.5 percent, and the West again had the highest rate, 4.5 percent. Rates were down over the year in all regions. The Northeast region had the largest over-the-year decline in jobless rates, -0.7 percentage point, followed by a 0.5 point decrease in the West. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, New England recorded the lowest unemployment rate in May, 2.7 percent, followed by the West North Central division, 2.9 percent. At 5.0 percent, the Pacific division continued to register the highest rate.