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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 00-56 Media contact: 691-5902 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Friday, February 25, 2000 STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 1999 ANNUAL AVERAGES 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). The District of Columbia's rate dropped by 2.5 percentage points. Eight additional states recorded decreases of at least 0.5 percentage point. The largest rate increases occurred in South Carolina (0.7 percentage point) and Alabama and Alaska (0.6 point each). Iowa reported the lowest 1999 annual average unemployment rate (2.5 percent), followed by New Hampshire (2.7 percent). The other states with rates below 3.0 percent were Minnesota and Virginia (2.8 percent each) and Colorado, Nebraska, and South Dakota (2.9 percent each). Nine of the 17 states with jobless rates below 3.5 percent were in the Midwest. West Virginia again reported the highest rate of any state (6.6 percent), followed by Alaska (6.4 percent). The District of Columbia's rate was 6.3 percent. Of the 11 states with jobless rates above 5.0 percent, 7 were in the West. Overall, 26 states had unemployment rates below the national average, while 24 states and the District of Columbia posted higher rates-the most even distribution in 12 years. For the ninth straight year, the Midwest had the lowest regional jobless rate (3.6 percent). The West registered the highest unemployment rate (4.9 percent) for the eighth consecutive year. This is the narrowest range between the highest and lowest regional unemployment rates since 1991. Three regions--the Midwest, South, and West--achieved the lowest annual rates in their series, while the Northeast registered its lowest rate since 1988. The West region recorded the largest decline over the year, -0.5 percentage point, followed by the Northeast and South, -0.3 point each. Among the nation's nine geographic divisions, the West North Central posted the lowest unemployment rate (3.0 percent), as it has for the last 10 years. For the eighth consecutive year, the Pacific division had the highest jobless rate (5.2 percent). However, the Pacific division, along - 2 with the West South Central division, recorded the largest rate decrease from 1998 (-0.5 percentage point each). The drop in the Pacific rate was largely due to improvements in the California labor market. Five divisions recorded new annual lows for their series--the East North Central, Mountain, South Atlantic, West North Central, and West South Central. 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 U.S. Census Bureau. A description of the survey and information about the reliability of the state estimates appear in Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 1998, Bulletin 2524. The length of the annual series varies by state and ranges from 24 to 30 years. The region and division annual series begin in 1976. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-606-5886; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and state, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Population Region, division, and state Civilian labor force Employed Unemployed 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 United States(2). 205,220 207,753 137,673 139,368 131,463 133,488 6,210 Northeast........... New England....... 39,917 10,366 40,063 10,404 26,059 7,104 26,206 7,147 24,845 6,854 25,056 6,912 1,214 249 1999 Unemployment rate Error range of rate, 1999(1) 1998 1999 5,880 4.5 4.2 4.1 - 4.3 1,150 235 4.7 3.5 4.4 3.3 4.3 3.1 - 4.5 3.5 Connecticut..... Maine........... Massachusetts... New Hampshire... Rhode Island.... Vermont......... 2,514 982 4,750 909 750 461 2,505 990 4,772 921 750 466 1,699 652 3,273 651 498 330 1,692 672 3,278 666 504 336 1,641 624 3,164 633 473 319 1,638 644 3,173 648 483 326 57 29 109 19 24 11 53 28 105 18 21 10 3.4 4.4 3.3 2.9 4.9 3.4 3.2 4.1 3.2 2.7 4.1 3.0 2.7 3.5 2.9 2.2 3.5 2.5 - 3.7 4.7 3.5 3.2 4.7 3.5 Middle Atlantic... New Jersey...... New York........ Pennsylvania.... 29,551 6,225 14,056 9,270 29,659 6,266 14,122 9,271 18,956 4,140 8,882 5,934 19,059 4,207 8,883 5,969 17,991 3,949 8,384 5,659 18,144 4,013 8,424 5,707 965 191 499 275 915 193 459 262 5.1 4.6 5.6 4.6 4.8 4.6 5.2 4.4 4.6 4.2 4.9 4.1 - 5.0 5.0 5.5 4.7 Midwest............. East North Central Illinois........ Indiana......... Michigan........ Ohio............ Wisconsin....... 47,675 33,595 9,106 4,482 7,461 8,577 3,969 47,947 33,761 9,165 4,507 7,493 8,598 3,998 33,183 22,999 6,240 3,089 5,029 5,689 2,953 33,442 23,240 6,385 3,078 5,136 5,749 2,892 31,941 22,090 5,962 2,993 4,835 5,447 2,853 32,245 22,346 6,112 2,985 4,942 5,503 2,804 1,242 909 278 96 194 242 99 1,198 894 274 93 194 246 88 3.7 4.0 4.5 3.1 3.9 4.3 3.4 3.6 3.8 4.3 3.0 3.8 4.3 3.0 3.5 3.6 4.0 2.6 3.5 4.0 2.6 - 3.7 4.0 4.6 3.4 4.1 4.6 3.4 West North Central Iowa............ Kansas.......... Minnesota....... Missouri........ Nebraska........ North Dakota.... South Dakota.... 14,080 2,179 1,972 3,554 4,112 1,241 479 543 14,186 2,189 1,988 3,594 4,144 1,247 478 546 10,183 1,568 1,418 2,680 2,859 916 346 395 10,202 1,574 1,434 2,699 2,847 911 337 400 9,851 1,525 1,363 2,612 2,740 892 335 384 9,899 1,534 1,392 2,623 2,751 885 325 388 332 43 54 68 119 25 11 11 303 40 43 75 96 26 11 12 3.3 2.8 3.8 2.5 4.2 2.7 3.2 2.9 3.0 2.5 3.0 2.8 3.4 2.9 3.4 2.9 2.8 2.1 2.5 2.4 2.9 2.4 2.9 2.5 - 3.2 2.9 3.5 3.2 3.9 3.4 3.9 3.3 South............... South Atlantic.... Delaware........ District of Columbia......... Florida......... Georgia......... Maryland........ North Carolina.. South Carolina.. Virginia........ West Virginia... 72,436 37,517 573 73,417 38,043 580 47,775 24,697 392 48,398 25,067 389 45,665 23,693 377 46,405 24,129 375 2,110 1,003 15 1,993 938 14 4.4 4.1 3.8 4.1 3.7 3.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 - 4.2 3.9 4.0 416 11,613 5,750 3,933 5,684 2,947 5,153 1,448 417 11,792 5,873 3,962 5,764 2,990 5,217 1,448 269 7,230 4,015 2,750 3,797 1,962 3,484 798 282 7,366 4,088 2,766 3,874 1,962 3,522 817 245 6,920 3,846 2,625 3,666 1,888 3,382 745 264 7,082 3,925 2,668 3,752 1,874 3,424 763 24 310 169 125 131 75 102 53 18 284 163 98 122 88 98 54 8.8 4.3 4.2 4.6 3.5 3.8 2.9 6.6 6.3 3.9 4.0 3.5 3.2 4.5 2.8 6.6 5.6 3.6 3.5 3.0 2.8 3.9 2.4 5.9 - 7.0 4.2 4.5 4.0 3.6 5.1 3.2 7.3 East South Central Alabama......... Kentucky........ Mississippi..... 12,659 3,362 3,029 2,057 12,784 3,391 3,062 2,077 8,112 2,156 1,930 1,267 8,204 2,145 1,970 1,270 7,749 2,066 1,841 1,199 7,836 2,043 1,882 1,205 364 91 89 68 368 102 88 65 4.5 4.2 4.6 5.4 4.5 4.8 4.5 5.1 4.2 4.2 3.9 4.5 - 4.8 5.4 5.1 5.7 Tennessee....... 4,211 4,254 2,759 2,819 2,643 2,705 116 114 4.2 4.0 3.5 - 4.5 West South Central Arkansas........ Louisiana....... Oklahoma........ Texas........... 22,260 1,933 3,260 2,509 14,558 22,590 1,946 3,278 2,529 14,837 14,966 1,210 2,054 1,620 10,082 15,128 1,222 2,052 1,648 10,206 14,223 1,144 1,937 1,546 9,597 14,440 1,167 1,948 1,591 9,734 743 67 117 73 485 687 55 104 57 472 5.0 5.5 5.7 4.5 4.8 4.5 4.5 5.1 3.4 4.6 4.3 3.9 4.5 2.9 4.3 - 4.7 5.1 5.7 3.9 4.9 West................ Mountain.......... Arizona......... Colorado........ Idaho........... Montana......... Nevada.......... New Mexico...... Utah............ Wyoming......... 45,294 12,560 3,498 3,010 918 680 1,318 1,295 1,475 366 46,123 12,813 3,570 3,080 940 685 1,363 1,307 1,500 368 30,721 8,685 2,255 2,241 654 466 919 831 1,061 257 31,187 8,854 2,364 2,264 655 474 942 810 1,084 262 29,072 8,303 2,162 2,155 621 440 880 780 1,021 245 29,654 8,485 2,260 2,198 621 449 900 764 1,043 249 1,648 382 93 86 33 26 40 51 40 12 1,533 369 104 66 34 25 42 46 40 13 5.4 4.4 4.1 3.8 5.0 5.6 4.3 6.2 3.8 4.8 4.9 4.2 4.4 2.9 5.2 5.2 4.4 5.6 3.7 4.9 4.7 4.0 3.9 2.5 4.6 4.6 3.9 5.0 3.2 4.3 - 5.1 4.4 4.9 3.3 5.8 5.8 4.9 6.2 4.2 5.5 Pacific........... Alaska.......... California...... Hawaii.......... Oregon.......... Washington...... 32,734 427 24,551 883 2,552 4,321 33,310 429 25,028 888 2,582 4,383 22,036 317 16,324 595 1,764 3,036 22,332 315 16,586 595 1,760 3,076 20,769 299 15,356 558 1,665 2,892 21,169 295 15,722 561 1,660 2,931 1,267 18 968 37 99 144 1,163 20 864 33 100 145 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.2 5.6 4.8 5.2 6.4 5.2 5.6 5.7 4.7 5.0 5.7 5.0 4.9 5.1 4.1 - 5.4 7.1 5.4 6.3 6.3 5.3 Puerto Rico(3)...... 2,760 2,803 1,311 1,302 1,136 1,149 175 13.3 11.7 153 (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. 3 The source of these data is the Employment Security Agency of Puerto Rico. 4 Not available. NOTE: Region and division data are derived from summing the component states. Sub-national data incorporate updated 1990 census-based population controls. Historical data have been revised.