November 1999 — 1999-12-17

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally stable in November. All four regions posted little or no change over the month, and 43 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 was unchanged at 4.1 percent. Nonfarm employment rose in 45 states. The Midwest's unemployment rate, 3.4 percent in November, remained the lowest among the four regions. The West again recorded the highest rate, 4.5 percent; however, this was a new low in its series (dating back to 1980). Compared with a year earlier, jobless rates were lower by 0.8 percentage point in the West and by small amounts in the other regions. (See table 1.) In November, the West North Central division recorded the lowest unemployment rate, 2.6 percent, among the nine geographic divisions. The Pacific (4.7 percent) and Middle Atlantic (4.6 percent) divisions registered the highest rates.