March 1, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Iowa reports lowest unemployment rate in 1999

With an average unemployment rate of 2.5 percent, Iowa reported the lowest unemployment rate in the nation in 1999, followed by New Hampshire at 2.7 percent.

[Chart data—TXT]

Other states with unemployment rates below 3.0 percent included Minnesota and Virginia at 2.8 percent, and Colorado, Nebraska and South Dakota with unemployment rates of 2.9 percent each. Nine of the 17 states with jobless rates below 3.5 percent were in the Midwest.

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.

These data are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. To learn more, see State and Regional Unemployment, 1999 Annual Averages (USDL 00-56).