1999 Regional and State Unemployment — 2000-02-25

Unemployment rates decreased in 35 states and the District of Columbia from 1998 to 1999, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. All four regions and eight of the nine geographic divisions also had rate declines. The national jobless rate decreased from 4.5 percent to 4.2 percent from 1998 to 1999. As the national unemployment rate reached its lowest point in 30 years, 14 states achieved the lowest annual average rates in their series. (All state series date back at least to 1976.) Jobless rates were lower in 1999 than in the prior year in 35 states and the District of Columbia, higher in 11 states, and unchanged in 4 states. Ten states reported consecutive decreases for at least the most recent 5 years. Among the states, Maryland and Oklahoma posted the largest rate declines in 1999 (-1.1 points each), followed by Arkansas (-1.0 point).