Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: December 2005 — 2006-01-24

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in December. Overall, 36 states and the District of Columbia registered over- the-month unemployment rate decreases, 10 states recorded increases, and 4 states had no change, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates were down in 32 states and the District of Columbia, up in 17 states, and unchanged in 1 state. In December, the national unemployment rate, 4.9 percent, was little changed from November, but was down by 0.5 percentage point from a year earlier. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 38 states over the month and de- creased in 12 states and the District of Columbia. California experienced the largest employment gain (+24,300), followed by Florida (+16,100), Arizona (+14,800), and Texas (+13,400). Louisiana and Montana posted the largest over- the-month percentage increases in employment (+0.7 percent each), followed by Arizona and Utah (+0.6 percent each).