Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2008-01-18

(NOTE: This release was reissued on Friday, February 8, 2008, to show seasonally adjusted data for the state of Idaho in table 5; no other tables were affected. In addition, the HTML version of table C showed December 2007 in the first column under rate instead of December 2006; data were not affected.) Regional and state unemployment rates were generally higher in December. All 4 regions and 46 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the- month unemployment rate increases, while 2 states registered decreases and 2 states had no change in their rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates were up in 36 states, down in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and unchanged in 2 states. The national unemployment rate rose to 5.0 percent in December.