February 25, 2002 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Average unemployment up in most States in 2001

As the nation moved into a recession in 2001, most States experienced rising unemployment rates. Compared with 2000, jobless rates in 2001 were higher in 42 States and the District of Columbia, lower in 7 States, and unchanged in 1 State.

[Chart data—TXT]

Eighteen States reported rate increases of 1.0 percentage point or more. Of these 18 States, 6 were located in the Midwest, 5 each were in the South and West, and 2 were in the Northeast. North Carolina had the largest increase (+1.9 percentage points), followed by Michigan (+1.7 points) and South Carolina (+1.5 points). 

In 2001, annual average unemployment rates rose in more than half the States for the first time since 1992. At the national level, the annual average jobless rate rose from 4.0 percent in 2000 to 4.8 percent in 2001.

Data on State unemployment are a product of the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. See more about last year’s developments in "State and Regional Unemployment, 2001 Annual Averages," news release USDL 02-97.