April 1999 — 1999-05-21

Regional and state unemployment rates were relatively stable in April. All four regions reported little change over the month, and 42 states 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 was essentially unchanged at 4.3 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 43 states and the District of Columbia. At the regional level, the Midwest again recorded the lowest unemployment rate, 3.4 percent in April, while the West still had the highest rate, 5.1 percent. The South's jobless rate inched down to 4.1 percent, the lowest since its series began in 1978. Over the year, rates declined in all regions, with the Northeast experiencing the largest decrease, -0.5 percentage point. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central continued to report the lowest rate, 2.7 percent in April, and the Pacific division again had the highest rate, 5.5 percent.