2011 Regional and State Unemployment — 2012-02-29

(NOTE: This release was reissued on Wednesday, April 4, 2012, to incorporate minor corrections to employment and labor force estimates for Montana due to an input error. Montana�s 2010 employment-population ratio changed from 59.7 to 59.9 percent, while its 2011 ratio changed from 59.8 to 59.7 percent, impacting the state counts for over-the-year employment-population ratio changes. The introductory paragraph of the release, as well as tables 1 and 2, have been modified accordingly.) In 2011, annual average unemployment rates declined in 48 states and rose in 2 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment-population ratios decreased in 25 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 18 states, and were unchanged in 7 states. The U.S. jobless rate in 2011 was 8.9 percent, down 0.7 percentage point from the prior year. The national employment-population ratio continued to trend down to 58.4 percent in 2011.