January 2000 — 2000-03-02

The unemployment rates in all four regions and 31 states posted small declines in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The national jobless rate was essentially unchanged at 4.0 percent. Nonfarm employment increased in 29 states and the District of Columbia. The Midwest region once again recorded the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2 percent, while the West again had the highest rate, 4.4 percent. The Midwest, South, and West all recorded the lowest rates in their series, while the Northeast nearly achieved a new low. (Virtually all regional and state series begin in 1978.) Over the year, rates declined in all regions, with the West experiencing the largest decrease, -0.8 percentage point. (See table 1.) Among the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central again recorded the lowest unemployment rate, 2.5 percent in January. The Pacific division registered the highest rate, 4.7 percent.