Regional And State Employment And Unemployment: August 2004 — 2004-09-17

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in August. All four regions and 40 states and the District of Columbia recorded shifts of 0.3 percentage point or less in their jobless rates from July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, unemployment rates declined in all four regions and in 45 states. The national unemployment rate, 5.4 percent in August, was little changed from July. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 30 states and the District of Columbia over the month. Among the four regions, the South again reported the lowest unemployment rate in August, 5.0 percent. The Midwest and West posted the highest rates, 5.6 percent each. All regions posted over-the-year jobless rate declines: the West (-1.0 percentage point), the South (-0.8 point), the Northeast (-0.6 point), and the Midwest (-0.4 point).