March 2001 — 2001-04-20

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally stable in March. All four regions reported little or no change from February, and 44 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 was little changed at 4.3 percent in March. Nonfarm employment increased in 29 states. In March, the Northeast again registered the lowest regional unemployment rate, 3.8 percent, while the West continued to have the highest rate, 4.6 percent. Over the year, the Midwest's jobless rate edged up 0.3 percent- age point, while the other three regions experienced little or no change in their rates. (See table 1.) New England's unemployment rate, 2.8 percent, and the West North Central's rate, 3.3 percent, were again the lowest among the nine geographic divisions. The Pacific and East South Central divisions continued to have the highest jobless rates, 4.8 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.