Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: July 2002 — 2002-08-20

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally stable in July and remained higher than a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. All four regions registered little change from June. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, including 13 states with no rate change at all. The national jobless rate was unchanged in July at 5.9 percent. Nonfarm employment decreased in 29 states in July. The Northeast had the lowest unemployment rate in July, 5.3 percent, followed closely by the South and Midwest, 5.4 and 5.5 percent, respectively. The West continued to report the highest rate, 6.1 percent. Over the year, the South recorded a 0.6-point increase, while the other three regions posted over-the-year jobless rate increases of 0.9 percentage point.