August 1998 — 1998-09-18

Regional and state unemployment rates were relatively stable in August. The four regions reported little change over the month, and 43 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 was unchanged at 4.5 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment rose in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The Midwest�s unemployment rate, 3.5 percent in August, remained the lowest of the four regions, while the West again recorded the highest rate, 5.2 percent. Over the year, rates declined by 0.9 percentage point in the Northeast, 0.5 point in both the Midwest and the South, and 0.3 point in the West. (See table 1.) Of the nine geographic divisions, the West North Central again reported the lowest unemployment rate, 3.0 percent in August, while the Pacific division continued to have the highest rate, 5.6 percent.