1995 Regional and State Unemployment — 1996-04-17

As the national unemployment rate declined from 6.1 to 5.6 percent, 42 states also recorded lower annual average jobless rates in 1995 than in the prior year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Only three states and the District of Columbia had higher rates, while jobless rates in five states were unchanged. Among the census regions and divisions, rates in all four regions and in eight of the nine divisions were down over the year. The East South Central division was the exception, as its rate edged up. Eight states had unemployment rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more from 1994 to 1995. Maine posted the largest decline, with its rate dropping 1.7 percentage points to 5.7 percent. Twelve states (Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin) recorded their lowest annual average rates in at least 20 years.