January 2001 — 2001-03-01

Regional and state unemployment rates generally were stable in January. Three of the four regions posted little change over the month, and 43 states and the District of Columbia recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national jobless rate rose from 4.0 percent in December to 4.2 percent in January. Nonfarm employment increased in 28 states and the District of Columbia in January. In January, the Northeast recorded the lowest regional unemployment rate, 3.6 percent. The West continued to report the highest rate, 4.3 percent. Over the year, jobless rates were down by 0.4 percentage point in both the Northeast and West, up by 0.3 point in the Midwest, and virtually unchanged in the South. Both the Northeast and West regions achieved the lowest jobless rates in their series.