Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2013-11-22

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in October. Twenty-eight states had unemployment rate decreases from September, 11 states and the District of Columbia had increases, and 11 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Thirty-eight states had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 10 states and the District of Columbia had increases, and 2 states had no change. The national jobless rate was little changed from September at 7.3 percent and was 0.6 percentage point lower than in October 2012. In October 2013, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 34 states, decreased in 15 states, and was unchanged in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Florida (+44,600), California (+39,800), and North Carolina (+22,200). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in Kentucky (-12,600), followed by Washington (-8,100), New Jersey (-5,500), and Virginia (-5,400).