Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: December 2004 — 2005-01-25

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in December. All four regions and 43 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less from November, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates declined in all four regions and in 43 states. In December, the national jobless rate was unchanged at 5.4 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 32 states and the District of Columbia over the month. The Northeast and South reported the lowest unemployment rates among the four regions in December, 4.9 and 5.0 percent, respectively. The Midwest posted the highest rate, 5.5 percent, followed closely by the West at 5.4 percent. The West had reported the highest rate of any region virtually every month from 1992 through late 2004.