September 2000 — 2000-10-20

Regional and state unemployment rates were stable in September. All four regions registered little or no change over the month, and 42 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 edged down to 3.9 percent. Nonfarm employment increased in 30 states in September. The Midwest again registered the lowest regional jobless rate, 3.5 percent in September, and the West continued to have the highest rate, 4.5 percent. Unemployment rates were down over the year by 0.6 percentage point in the Northeast and were unchanged or little changed in the remaining three regions. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, New England had the lowest unemployment rate in September, 2.6 percent, followed by the West North Central at 2.8 percent. At 4.8 percent, the Pacific division continued to register the highest rate.