Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in October. All four regions and 48 states recorded changes of 0.3 percentage point or less in their jobless rates from September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, unemployment rates declined in all four regions and in 42 states. The national unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.5 percent in October. Nonfarm payroll employment increased in 31 states and the District of Columbia over the month.
Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)
In October, the South and Northeast reported the lowest unemployment rates among the four regions, 4.9 and 5.0 percent, respectively. The Midwest and West had the highest rates, 5.6 and 5.5 percent, respectively. The last time that the Midwest had registered the highest rate prior to October was May 1990. All regions experienced over-the-year jobless rate declines, -0.9 percentage point in the West, -0.8 point each in the Northeast and South, and -0.3 point in the Midwest.The New England and South Atlantic divisions continued to report the lowest unemployment rates, 4.4 percent each in October, among the nine geographic divisions. The Mountain and West North Central divisions had the next lowest rates, 4.7 percent each. The East North Central and Pacific divisions recorded the highest jobless rates, 6.0 and 5.8 percent, respectively. October was the first month that the East North Central registered the highest divisional unemployment rate since June 1985. Over the month, unemployment rates showed little or no change in all nine divisions. Each division had an over-the-year jobless rate decline of at least 0.3 percentage point, with the largest decreases in the Pacific (-1.1 percentage points) and the New England and West South Central divisions (-1.0 point each).
