WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 13, 2012) — Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in January. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate decreases, New York posted a rate increase, and four states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, while New York experienced an increase and Illinois had no change. The national jobless rate decreased to 8.3 percent from December and was 0.8 percentage point lower than in January 2011.
In January, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 37 states and decreased in 13 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-month increase in employment occurred in Texas (+67,200), followed by New York (+44,600) and Ohio (+32,800). The largest over-the-month decrease in employment occurred in Florida (-38,600), followed by Pennsylvania (-9,000) and the District of Columbia (-6,100). New Hampshire experienced the largest over-the-month percentage increase in employment (+1.0 percent), followed by Colorado, Kansas, and Maine (+0.9 percent each). The District of Columbia experienced the largest over-the- month percentage decline in employment (-0.8 percent), followed by Florida (-0.5 percent) and Alabama, Hawaii, Nebraska, and South Dakota (-0.3 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 6 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increase occurred in North Dakota (+5.7 percent), followed by Texas and Utah (+2.5 percent each). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Wisconsin (-0.5 percent), followed by Alaska, Mississippi, and Rhode Island (-0.3 percent each).
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