January 1998 — 1998-03-05

Regional and state unemployment rates showed little movement in January. Over the month, unemployment rates were virtually unchanged in all four regions, while 39 states and the District of Columbia 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, 4.7 percent, was unchanged. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Among the regions, the Midwest reported the lowest rate, 3.7 percent in January, as it has for more than 6 years. Moreover, this region's current rate is the lowest in its series, as is the jobless rate in the South. (Virtually all regional and state series begin in 1978.) The West has had the highest jobless rate among the regions for the past 5 1/2 years; it was 5.2 percent in January. Compared with last January, the four regions experienced declines of 0.7-0.8 percentage point in their jobless rates.