Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2010-01-22

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally higher in December. Forty-three states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, four states registered rate decreases, and three states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate was unchanged in December at 10.0 percent but was 2.6 percentage points higher than a year earlier. In December, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 11 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 39 states. The largest over- the-month increase in employment occurred in Virginia (+9,500), fol- lowed by Oklahoma (+5,000), Oregon (+2,900), New Hampshire and Wash- ington (+2,000 each). New Hampshire, Oklahoma, and Virginia experi- enced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+0.3 percent each), followed by the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Oregon (+0.2 percent each).