Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2010-09-21

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in August. Twenty-seven states recorded unemployment rate increases, 13 states registered rate decreases, and 10 states and the District of Columbia had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 21 states reported increases, and 3 states had no change. The national jobless rate was about unchanged in August at 9.6 percent and also little different from a year earlier (9.7 percent). In August, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 14 states and de- creased in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over- the-month increases in employment occurred in North Carolina (+18,600), Missouri (+3,600), Tennessee (+2,500), and Massachusetts (+2,100). The largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment were in North Carolina (+0.5 percent) and New Hampshire (+0.2 percent).