December 1998 — 1999-01-22

Regional and state unemployment rates continued to be relatively stable in December. All four regions reported little or no change from November, and 41 states 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, 4.3 percent, was little changed from November. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 45 states. The Midwest's unemployment rate, 3.5 percent in December, remained the lowest among the four regions, while the West again recorded the highest rate, 5.2 percent. Compared with a year earlier, jobless rates were lower by 0.7 percentage point in the Northeast and 0.4 point each in the Midwest and South. The West's rate was little changed over the year. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central, at 2.9 percent, continued to report the lowest unemployment rate. The Pacific division again had the highest rate, 5.7 percent.