August 2001 — 2001-09-21

Regional and state unemployment rates generally were stable in August. All four regions recorded small changes from July, and 43 states and the District of Columbia reported 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 rose to 4.9 percent in August. Nonfarm employment decreased in 28 states in August. The Midwest, Northeast, and South each had an unemployment rate of 4.4 percent in August, while the West reported a rate of 5.1 percent. All four regions posted rate increases over the year of 0.5 percentage point to 0.7 point. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central division again reported the lowest unemployment rate, 3.5 percent in August, with New England registering the next lowest rate, 3.8 percent. The Pacific division recorded the highest jobless rate, 5.4 percent. The Middle Atlantic division had the largest rate increase from July, 0.3 percentage point.