Regional and State Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2016-03-25

Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in February. Twenty-two states had unemployment rate decreases from January, 8 states had increases, and 20 states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 10 states had increases, and 3 states had no change. The national jobless rate, 4.9 percent, was unchanged from January and was 0.6 percentage point lower than in February 2015. In February 2016, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 14 states. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in California (+39,900), New York (+25,100), and Pennsylvania (+21,100). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in New Jersey (-8,600), followed by Iowa (-6,200) and Louisiana (-4,700).