January 25, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Three Midwestern States tie for lowest unemployment rate at end of 1998

Thirty-one States had unemployment rates below the seasonally-adjusted national rate of 4.3 percent in December 1998; seven had unemployment rates below 3.0 percent.  The lowest unemployment rate—2.5 percent—was reported in Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota.

[Chart data—TXT]

Comparing not seasonally adjusted data over the past 12 months, the national unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points from December 1997 to December 1998.   Twenty-three States reported unemployment rate declines greater than the Nation's.

Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, and Tennessee all experienced unemployment rate declines of 1.4 percentage points in 1998.  The unemployment rate in Maryland fell 1.3 percentage points; in Alabama, the rate was down 1.2 percentage points.

These data are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. More information can be found in news release USDL 99-19, "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment: December 1998." Comparisons of end-of-the-year national and State unemployment rates are based on seasonally adjusted December 1998 data.  Year-to-year comparisons are based on changes in not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for December 1997 and December 1998.