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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov:80/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 606-6392 USDL 97-88 Media contact: 606-5902 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Tuesday, March 18, 1997 STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 1996 ANNUAL AVERAGES All four of the regions in the U.S. and seven of the nine divisions experienced small declines in their unemployment rates from 1995 to 1996, as the national rate edged down from 5.6 to 5.4 percent (annual averages), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The states were nearly equally divided between those in which jobless rates rose over the year and those in which rates fell. Unemployment rates were lower in 1996 than in the prior year in 24 states and the District of Columbia, higher in 21 states, and unchanged in 5 states. Only five states showed changes in either direction of 1.0 percentage point or more. Rhode Island reported the largest drop, 1.9 percentage points, while Alabama and Massachusetts recorded reductions of 1.2 and 1.1 points, respectively. Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Dakota, Utah, and Wisconsin all posted their lowest rates in over 20 years. (The length of the series varies by state. The series started in 1970 for 26 states and the District of Columbia, in 1973 for 2 states, and in 1976 for 22 states.) Only two states had jobless rate increases of at least a full percentage point, as New Mexico’s rate increased by 1.8 points and Oregon’s rose by 1.1 points. For the seventh consecutive year, Nebraska had the lowest annual average unemployment rate, 2.9 percent. North Dakota and South Dakota were next at 3.1 and 3.2 percent, respectively. Iowa, Utah, and Wisconsin also posted jobless rates below 4.0 percent. The District of Columbia recorded the highest unemployment rate (8.5 percent), followed by New Mexico (8.1 percent). Three other states--Alaska, California, and West Virginia--had rates of at least 7.0 percent. Thirty-two states registered unemployment rates below the national average, whereas 16 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates. This distribution has not changed much in recent years, reflecting the higher-than-average unemployment rates reported by many of the largest states. The relative position of the regions and divisions in 1996 also was little different from that of recent years. The Midwest maintained the lowest unemployment rate (4.5 percent) for the sixth year in a row, while the West reported the highest rate (6.5 percent) for the fifth straight year. The jobless rate in the Northeast was just above the national average, while the rate in the South was slightly below it. Among the nation’s nine divisions, the West North Central division had the lowest unemployment rate (4.0 percent), as it has for the last 7 years. For the fifth consecutive year, the Pacific division, which is dominated by California, posted the highest jobless rate (7.0 percent). - 2 All estimates presented in this release, except those for Puerto Rico, were derived from the Current Population Survey, a sample survey of about 50,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census. A description of the survey and information about the reliability of the state estimates appear in "Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 1995," Bulletin 2486. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone: 202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577. Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 1995-96 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Population Region, division, and state 1995 United States(2)........ 198,584 Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed Unemployment rate Error range of rate, 1996(1) 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996 1995 1996 200,591 132,304 133,943 124,900 126,708 7,404 7,236 5.6 5.4 5.3 - 5.5 Northeast........... New England....... Connecticut..... Maine........... Massachusetts... New Hampshire... Rhode Island.... Vermont......... 39,687 10,264 2,523 961 4,701 875 756 448 39,750 10,312 2,521 969 4,726 888 755 453 25,418 6,973 1,713 642 3,176 634 488 320 25,690 7,021 1,720 669 3,189 624 496 324 23,898 6,598 1,618 605 3,006 609 454 306 24,246 6,685 1,621 635 3,052 598 470 310 1,519 374 94 37 170 25 34 14 1,444 336 99 34 137 26 25 15 6.0 5.4 5.5 5.7 5.4 4.0 7.0 4.2 5.6 4.8 5.7 5.1 4.3 4.2 5.1 4.6 5.4 4.5 5.0 4.5 3.9 3.6 4.4 4.0 - 5.8 5.1 6.4 5.7 4.7 4.8 5.8 5.2 Middle Atlantic... New Jersey...... 29,423 6,114 29,438 6,136 18,446 4,067 18,669 4,124 17,301 3,806 17,562 3,869 1,145 261 1,108 255 6.2 6.4 5.9 6.2 5.7 5.8 - 6.1 6.6 New York........ Pennsylvania.... 14,026 9,283 14,014 9,288 8,537 5,842 8,639 5,903 7,996 5,499 8,100 5,590 541 343 540 313 6.3 5.9 6.2 5.3 5.9 4.9 - 6.5 5.7 Midwest............. East North Central Illinois........ Indiana......... Michigan........ Ohio............ Wisconsin....... 46,519 32,788 8,868 4,400 7,190 8,465 3,865 46,873 33,010 8,902 4,440 7,247 8,515 3,906 32,290 22,353 6,055 3,131 4,734 5,583 2,851 32,628 22,538 6,100 3,072 4,807 5,643 2,918 30,816 21,270 5,743 2,985 4,480 5,317 2,745 31,156 21,474 5,778 2,945 4,572 5,365 2,815 1,474 1,083 312 146 253 266 106 1,471 1,064 322 127 234 278 103 4.6 4.8 5.2 4.7 5.3 4.8 3.7 4.5 4.7 5.3 4.1 4.9 4.9 3.5 4.4 4.5 4.9 3.6 4.5 4.5 3.0 - 4.6 4.9 5.7 4.6 5.3 5.3 4.0 West North Central Iowa............ Kansas.......... Minnesota....... Missouri........ Nebraska........ North Dakota.... South Dakota.... 13,731 2,158 1,896 3,451 4,002 1,217 474 533 13,863 2,174 1,912 3,493 4,037 1,231 477 539 9,939 1,561 1,333 2,599 2,828 900 336 384 10,090 1,599 1,340 2,609 2,898 913 343 390 9,548 1,506 1,274 2,502 2,692 876 325 373 9,683 1,539 1,279 2,505 2,765 886 333 377 392 54 59 96 135 24 11 11 407 60 60 104 132 27 11 13 3.9 3.5 4.4 3.7 4.8 2.6 3.3 2.9 4.0 3.8 4.5 4.0 4.6 2.9 3.1 3.2 3.8 3.3 3.9 3.5 4.0 2.5 2.6 2.7 - 4.2 4.3 5.1 4.5 5.2 3.3 3.6 3.7 South............... South Atlantic.... Delaware........ District of Columbia......... Florida......... Georgia......... Maryland........ North Carolina.. South Carolina.. Virginia........ West Virginia... 69,566 35,947 549 70,561 36,445 558 45,865 23,640 383 46,495 23,974 382 43,367 22,434 366 44,061 22,784 363 2,497 1,205 17 2,434 1,190 20 5.4 5.1 4.3 5.2 5.0 5.2 5.1 4.8 4.6 - 5.3 5.2 5.8 436 11,038 5,410 3,846 5,451 2,787 4,982 1,448 428 11,196 5,533 3,870 5,544 2,825 5,039 1,452 285 6,849 3,627 2,721 3,639 1,858 3,491 787 272 6,938 3,753 2,786 3,796 1,848 3,389 808 260 6,473 3,450 2,582 3,482 1,764 3,333 725 249 6,586 3,580 2,650 3,631 1,737 3,240 747 25 376 177 139 158 94 157 62 23 352 173 136 165 111 149 61 8.9 5.5 4.9 5.1 4.3 5.1 4.5 7.9 8.5 5.1 4.6 4.9 4.3 6.0 4.4 7.5 7.7 4.8 4.1 4.3 3.9 5.3 3.9 6.8 - 9.3 5.4 5.1 5.5 4.7 6.7 4.9 8.2 East South Central Alabama......... Kentucky........ Mississippi..... Tennessee....... 12,248 3,253 2,954 2,000 4,041 12,403 3,285 2,987 2,025 4,106 7,888 2,060 1,861 1,260 2,707 7,969 2,088 1,867 1,262 2,751 7,440 1,930 1,760 1,182 2,567 7,537 1,981 1,762 1,185 2,609 448 129 100 77 140 431 107 105 77 142 5.7 6.3 5.4 6.1 5.2 5.4 5.1 5.6 6.1 5.2 5.1 4.5 5.0 5.4 4.6 - 5.7 5.7 6.2 6.8 5.8 West South Central Arkansas........ Louisiana....... Oklahoma........ Texas........... 21,371 1,886 3,196 2,445 13,844 21,713 1,907 3,217 2,469 14,120 14,338 1,222 1,956 1,548 9,613 14,554 1,234 1,997 1,577 9,748 13,493 1,163 1,822 1,475 9,034 13,741 1,168 1,863 1,513 9,200 846 59 135 73 579 814 67 135 64 549 5.9 4.9 6.9 4.7 6.0 5.6 5.4 6.7 4.1 5.6 5.3 4.8 6.0 3.6 5.3 - 5.9 6.0 7.4 4.6 5.9 West................ 43,129 43,860 28,943 29,430 27,017 27,525 1,926 1,905 6.7 6.5 6.3 - 6.7 Mountain.......... Arizona......... Colorado........ Idaho........... Montana......... Nevada.......... New Mexico...... Utah............ Wyoming......... 11,736 3,254 2,835 858 660 1,167 1,247 1,357 358 12,095 3,385 2,905 880 671 1,221 1,270 1,400 363 8,167 2,207 2,091 601 438 804 792 974 256 8,321 2,249 2,102 619 447 844 800 998 258 7,769 2,095 2,004 569 412 761 743 940 244 7,895 2,125 2,013 587 423 798 735 964 245 398 112 88 32 26 43 50 35 12 426 124 89 32 24 46 64 35 13 4.9 5.1 4.2 5.4 5.9 5.4 6.3 3.6 4.8 5.1 5.5 4.2 5.2 5.3 5.4 8.1 3.5 5.0 4.9 4.9 3.7 4.6 4.7 4.8 7.3 3.0 4.4 - 5.3 6.1 4.7 5.8 5.9 6.0 8.9 4.0 5.6 Pacific........... Alaska.......... California...... Hawaii.......... Oregon.......... Washington...... 31,393 418 23,562 858 2,437 4,118 31,765 426 23,797 865 2,484 4,193 20,781 304 15,427 577 1,656 2,817 21,111 316 15,596 591 1,721 2,887 19,254 282 14,217 543 1,576 2,637 19,634 291 14,470 553 1,619 2,699 1,527 22 1,211 34 80 179 1,478 25 1,126 38 102 188 7.3 7.3 7.8 5.9 4.8 6.4 7.0 7.8 7.2 6.4 5.9 6.5 6.8 7.1 6.9 5.7 5.2 5.8 - 7.2 8.5 7.5 7.1 6.6 7.2 Puerto Rico(3)...... 2,670 2,696 1,245 1,284 1,074 1,112 170 172 13.7 13.4 (4) 1 Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level. 2 Because of separate processing and weighting procedures, totals for the United States differ from the results obtained by aggregating the data for regions, divisions, or states. Moreover, due to independent population adjustments, data for geographic components may not add to totals for larger geographic areas. 3 The source of these data is the Employment Security Agency of Puerto Rico. 4 Not available. NOTE: Sub-national data incorporate updated 1990 census-based population controls, adjusted for the estimated undercount. Historical data have been revised.