July 2000 — 2000-08-18

Regional and state unemployment rates were stable in July. All four regions registered little or no change over the month, and 46 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 4.0 percent. Nonfarm employment increased in 31 states in July. The Midwest continued to have the lowest regional jobless rate, 3.5 percent in July, and the West again had the highest rate, 4.6 percent. Unemployment rates were down over the year by 0.7 percentage point in the Northeast, 0.4 point in the South, and 0.3 point in the West; the rate was essentially unchanged in the Midwest. The South reached a new series low in July, 3.7 percent.