September 22, 2008 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Over-the-month changes in State unemployment rates, August 2008

State unemployment rates were mostly higher in August.

Number of States with over-the-month unemployment rate increases, decreases, and no change, August 2008
[Chart data—TXT]

Overall, 44 states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, 5 States registered decreases, and 1 State had no change.

Connecticut, Louisiana, and Rhode Island posted the largest unemployment rate increases from July to August (+0.7 percentage point each).

These data come from the BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. More State unemployment statistics are available in "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment: August 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1310.