Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2009-07-17

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally higher in June. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 5 states registered rate decreases, and 7 states had no rate change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates were higher in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate, at 9.5 per- cent, was little changed between May and June, but was up 3.9 per- centage points from a year earlier. In June, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 39 states and the District of Columbia, increased in 10 states, and was unchanged in 1 state. The largest over-the-month decrease in the level of employment occurred in California (-66,500), followed by Texas (-40,600), Ohio (-33,000), and Michigan (-31,300).