Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6392 USDL 00-56 For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 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 Civilian labor Employed Unemployed Unemployment Region, division, force rate Error range and state of rate, 1999(1) 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 1998 1999 United States(2). 205,220 207,753 137,673 139,368 131,463 133,488 6,210 5,880 4.5 4.2 4.1 - 4.3 Northeast........... 39,917 40,063 26,059 26,206 24,845 25,056 1,214 1,150 4.7 4.4 4.3 - 4.5 New England....... 10,366 10,404 7,104 7,147 6,854 6,912 249 235 3.5 3.3 3.1 - 3.5 Connecticut..... 2,514 2,505 1,699 1,692 1,641 1,638 57 53 3.4 3.2 2.7 - 3.7 Maine........... 982 990 652 672 624 644 29 28 4.4 4.1 3.5 - 4.7 Massachusetts... 4,750 4,772 3,273 3,278 3,164 3,173 109 105 3.3 3.2 2.9 - 3.5 New Hampshire... 909 921 651 666 633 648 19 18 2.9 2.7 2.2 - 3.2 Rhode Island.... 750 750 498 504 473 483 24 21 4.9 4.1 3.5 - 4.7 Vermont......... 461 466 330 336 319 326 11 10 3.4 3.0 2.5 - 3.5 Middle Atlantic... 29,551 29,659 18,956 19,059 17,991 18,144 965 915 5.1 4.8 4.6 - 5.0 New Jersey...... 6,225 6,266 4,140 4,207 3,949 4,013 191 193 4.6 4.6 4.2 - 5.0 New York........ 14,056 14,122 8,882 8,883 8,384 8,424 499 459 5.6 5.2 4.9 - 5.5 Pennsylvania.... 9,270 9,271 5,934 5,969 5,659 5,707 275 262 4.6 4.4 4.1 - 4.7 Midwest............. 47,675 47,947 33,183 33,442 31,941 32,245 1,242 1,198 3.7 3.6 3.5 - 3.7 East North Central 33,595 33,761 22,999 23,240 22,090 22,346 909 894 4.0 3.8 3.6 - 4.0 Illinois........ 9,106 9,165 6,240 6,385 5,962 6,112 278 274 4.5 4.3 4.0 - 4.6 Indiana......... 4,482 4,507 3,089 3,078 2,993 2,985 96 93 3.1 3.0 2.6 - 3.4 Michigan........ 7,461 7,493 5,029 5,136 4,835 4,942 194 194 3.9 3.8 3.5 - 4.1 Ohio............ 8,577 8,598 5,689 5,749 5,447 5,503 242 246 4.3 4.3 4.0 - 4.6 Wisconsin....... 3,969 3,998 2,953 2,892 2,853 2,804 99 88 3.4 3.0 2.6 - 3.4 West North Central 14,080 14,186 10,183 10,202 9,851 9,899 332 303 3.3 3.0 2.8 - 3.2 Iowa............ 2,179 2,189 1,568 1,574 1,525 1,534 43 40 2.8 2.5 2.1 - 2.9 Kansas.......... 1,972 1,988 1,418 1,434 1,363 1,392 54 43 3.8 3.0 2.5 - 3.5 Minnesota....... 3,554 3,594 2,680 2,699 2,612 2,623 68 75 2.5 2.8 2.4 - 3.2 Missouri........ 4,112 4,144 2,859 2,847 2,740 2,751 119 96 4.2 3.4 2.9 - 3.9 Nebraska........ 1,241 1,247 916 911 892 885 25 26 2.7 2.9 2.4 - 3.4 North Dakota.... 479 478 346 337 335 325 11 11 3.2 3.4 2.9 - 3.9 South Dakota.... 543 546 395 400 384 388 11 12 2.9 2.9 2.5 - 3.3 South............... 72,436 73,417 47,775 48,398 45,665 46,405 2,110 1,993 4.4 4.1 4.0 - 4.2 South Atlantic.... 37,517 38,043 24,697 25,067 23,693 24,129 1,003 938 4.1 3.7 3.5 - 3.9 Delaware........ 573 580 392 389 377 375 15 14 3.8 3.5 3.0 - 4.0 District of Columbia......... 416 417 269 282 245 264 24 18 8.8 6.3 5.6 - 7.0 Florida......... 11,613 11,792 7,230 7,366 6,920 7,082 310 284 4.3 3.9 3.6 - 4.2 Georgia......... 5,750 5,873 4,015 4,088 3,846 3,925 169 163 4.2 4.0 3.5 - 4.5 Maryland........ 3,933 3,962 2,750 2,766 2,625 2,668 125 98 4.6 3.5 3.0 - 4.0 North Carolina.. 5,684 5,764 3,797 3,874 3,666 3,752 131 122 3.5 3.2 2.8 - 3.6 South Carolina.. 2,947 2,990 1,962 1,962 1,888 1,874 75 88 3.8 4.5 3.9 - 5.1 Virginia........ 5,153 5,217 3,484 3,522 3,382 3,424 102 98 2.9 2.8 2.4 - 3.2 West Virginia... 1,448 1,448 798 817 745 763 53 54 6.6 6.6 5.9 - 7.3 East South Central 12,659 12,784 8,112 8,204 7,749 7,836 364 368 4.5 4.5 4.2 - 4.8 Alabama......... 3,362 3,391 2,156 2,145 2,066 2,043 91 102 4.2 4.8 4.2 - 5.4 Kentucky........ 3,029 3,062 1,930 1,970 1,841 1,882 89 88 4.6 4.5 3.9 - 5.1 Mississippi..... 2,057 2,077 1,267 1,270 1,199 1,205 68 65 5.4 5.1 4.5 - 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 22,260 22,590 14,966 15,128 14,223 14,440 743 687 5.0 4.5 4.3 - 4.7 Arkansas........ 1,933 1,946 1,210 1,222 1,144 1,167 67 55 5.5 4.5 3.9 - 5.1 Louisiana....... 3,260 3,278 2,054 2,052 1,937 1,948 117 104 5.7 5.1 4.5 - 5.7 Oklahoma........ 2,509 2,529 1,620 1,648 1,546 1,591 73 57 4.5 3.4 2.9 - 3.9 Texas........... 14,558 14,837 10,082 10,206 9,597 9,734 485 472 4.8 4.6 4.3 - 4.9 West................ 45,294 46,123 30,721 31,187 29,072 29,654 1,648 1,533 5.4 4.9 4.7 - 5.1 Mountain.......... 12,560 12,813 8,685 8,854 8,303 8,485 382 369 4.4 4.2 4.0 - 4.4 Arizona......... 3,498 3,570 2,255 2,364 2,162 2,260 93 104 4.1 4.4 3.9 - 4.9 Colorado........ 3,010 3,080 2,241 2,264 2,155 2,198 86 66 3.8 2.9 2.5 - 3.3 Idaho........... 918 940 654 655 621 621 33 34 5.0 5.2 4.6 - 5.8 Montana......... 680 685 466 474 440 449 26 25 5.6 5.2 4.6 - 5.8 Nevada.......... 1,318 1,363 919 942 880 900 40 42 4.3 4.4 3.9 - 4.9 New Mexico...... 1,295 1,307 831 810 780 764 51 46 6.2 5.6 5.0 - 6.2 Utah............ 1,475 1,500 1,061 1,084 1,021 1,043 40 40 3.8 3.7 3.2 - 4.2 Wyoming......... 366 368 257 262 245 249 12 13 4.8 4.9 4.3 - 5.5 Pacific........... 32,734 33,310 22,036 22,332 20,769 21,169 1,267 1,163 5.7 5.2 5.0 - 5.4 Alaska.......... 427 429 317 315 299 295 18 20 5.8 6.4 5.7 - 7.1 California...... 24,551 25,028 16,324 16,586 15,356 15,722 968 864 5.9 5.2 5.0 - 5.4 Hawaii.......... 883 888 595 595 558 561 37 33 6.2 5.6 4.9 - 6.3 Oregon.......... 2,552 2,582 1,764 1,760 1,665 1,660 99 100 5.6 5.7 5.1 - 6.3 Washington...... 4,321 4,383 3,036 3,076 2,892 2,931 144 145 4.8 4.7 4.1 - 5.3 Puerto Rico(3)...... 2,760 2,803 1,311 1,302 1,136 1,149 175 153 13.3 11.7 (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.