Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:  (202) 606-6392  USDL 99-46

                                        For release:  10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                606-5902  Friday, February 26, 1999


           STATE AND REGIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT, 1998 ANNUAL AVERAGES
   
   
   Unemployment rates decreased in 38 states from 1997 to 1998, the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  All
four of the nation's regions and eight of the nine geographic divisions
experienced rate declines as well.  The national jobless rate decreased
from 4.9 percent to 4.5 percent over this period.
   
   The national unemployment rate reached its lowest point since 1969, and
13 states posted their lowest annual average rates since the beginning of
their series (usually the mid-1970s)--Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Idaho,
Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Carolina,
Virginia, and Wisconsin.  Unemployment rates were lower in 1998 than in the
prior year in 38 states, higher in 8 states and the District of Columbia,
and unchanged in 4 states.  Five states recorded drops of a full percentage
point or more:  Alaska (-2.1 percentage points), Connecticut (-1.7 points),
Tennessee (-1.2 points), Virginia (-1.1 points), and Maine (-1.0 point).
No state experienced a rate increase of a full percentage point or more,
though the following registered increases of at least one-half percentage
point:  the District of Columbia (0.9 point), North Dakota and Utah (0.7
point each), and Colorado (0.5 point).
   
   Among the states, Minnesota recorded the lowest 1998 annual average
unemployment rate, 2.5 percent, followed by Nebraska, 2.7 percent.
Nebraska has had the lowest or second-lowest rate for the past 9 years.
The other states with rates below 3.0 percent were Iowa (2.8 percent) and
New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Virginia (each 2.9 percent).  Seven of the
12 states with rates below 3.5 percent were in the Midwest, and 4 were in
New England.  West Virginia posted the highest unemployment rate for 1998
(6.6 percent), followed by Hawaii and New Mexico (6.2 percent each).  The
District of Columbia's rate was 8.8 percent.  Of the 12 states with rates
at or above 5 percent, 7 were in the West and 4 were in the South.  Twenty-
eight states registered unemployment rates below the national average,
while 20 states had higher rates.
   
   At the regional level, the Midwest maintained the lowest jobless rate in
1998 (3.7 percent) for the eighth year in a row, as every state in that
region had a rate of 4.5 percent or less.  The West region, where only
Colorado and Utah had rates below 4.0 percent, reported the highest
regional unemployment rate (5.4 percent) for the seventh straight year.
Both the Midwest and South reported their lowest annual rates since the
beginning of their series (1978), while the Northeast and West achieved
their lowest annual rates since 1989.  The Northeast and South reported the
largest declines over the year, -0.7 percentage point and -0.5 point,
respectively.
   
   Among the nation's nine geographic divisions, the West North Central had
the lowest unemployment rate (3.3 percent), as it has for the last 9 years.
For the seventh consecutive year, the Pacific division posted the highest

                                  - 2 -

jobless rate (5.7 percent).  The unemployment rate fell in each division
from 1997 to 1998, except the Mountain division, where the rate was
essentially unchanged.  The largest declines were in New England and the
East South Central division (-0.9 percentage point each).  Four divisions--
the East North Central, West North Central, East South Central, and South
Atlantic--reported new annual lows.
   
   Estimates in this release 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 Bureau of the Census.  (The table
includes estimates for Puerto Rico based on a monthly household survey
similar to the Current Population Survey, conducted by the Puerto Rico
Department of Labor and Human Resources.)  A description of the survey and
information about the reliability of the state estimates appear in
Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 1996, Bulletin 2498.
The length of the annual series varies by state and ranges from 23 to 29
years.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory im-
paired individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-326-2577.
Table 1.  Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over by region, division, and
state, 1997-98 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                         Population      Civilian labor       Employed         Unemployed      Unemployment               
 Region, division,                           force                                                 rate       Error range 
     and state                                                                                                  of rate,  
                                                                                                                1998(1)   
                       1997     1998     1997     1998     1997     1998     1997     1998     1997    1998               
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
         United                                                                                                           
   States(2)........  203,133  205,220  136,297  137,673  129,558  131,463    6,739    6,210    4.9     4.5   4.4  -   4.6
                                                                                                                          
Northeast...........   39,793   39,941   26,129   26,076   24,723   24,861    1,407    1,215    5.4     4.7   4.6  -   4.8
  New England.......   10,328   10,382    7,118    7,114    6,804    6,865      314      250    4.4     3.5   3.3  -   3.7
    Connecticut.....    2,523    2,530    1,723    1,709    1,635    1,652       88       57    5.1     3.4   2.9  -   3.9
    Maine...........      973      980      659      651      624      622       36       29    5.4     4.4   3.8  -   5.0
    Massachusetts...    4,726    4,750    3,260    3,273    3,129    3,164      131      109    4.0     3.3   3.0  -   3.6
    New Hampshire...      899      910      646      652      625      633       20       19    3.1     2.9   2.4  -   3.4
    Rhode Island....      750      751      502      498      476      474       27       24    5.3     4.9   4.3  -   5.5
    Vermont.........      457      461      327      330      314      319       13       11    4.0     3.4   2.9  -   3.9
                                                                                                                          
  Middle Atlantic...   29,465   29,559   19,011   18,962   17,919   17,997    1,093      965    5.7     5.1   4.9  -   5.3
    New Jersey......    6,197    6,248    4,198    4,155    3,982    3,963      216      192    5.1     4.6   4.2  -   5.0
    New York........   13,993   14,037    8,835    8,870    8,269    8,372      566      498    6.4     5.6   5.3  -   5.9
    Pennsylvania....    9,275    9,274    5,979    5,936    5,668    5,661      311      275    5.2     4.6   4.3  -   4.9
                                                                                                                          
Midwest.............   47,386   47,629   33,008   33,152   31,674   31,912    1,335    1,240    4.0     3.7   3.6  -   3.8
  East North Central   33,408   33,553   22,900   22,971   21,921   22,063      979      908    4.3     4.0   3.8  -   4.2
    Illinois........    9,039    9,082    6,196    6,223    5,904    5,946      291      277    4.7     4.5   4.2  -   4.8
    Indiana.........    4,456    4,481    3,086    3,088    2,978    2,993      108       96    3.5     3.1   2.6  -   3.6
    Michigan........    7,428    7,461    4,962    5,029    4,753    4,835      209      194    4.2     3.9   3.6  -   4.2
    Ohio............    8,539    8,561    5,707    5,678    5,445    5,437      262      242    4.6     4.3   4.0  -   4.6
    Wisconsin.......    3,946    3,968    2,949    2,952    2,841    2,853      108       99    3.7     3.4   2.9  -   3.9
                                                                                                                          
  West North Central   13,978   14,076   10,109   10,181    9,753    9,849      356      332    3.5     3.3   3.1  -   3.5
    Iowa............    2,173    2,181    1,579    1,570    1,528    1,526       51       43    3.3     2.8   2.4  -   3.2
    Kansas..........    1,941    1,962    1,368    1,411    1,317    1,357       52       54    3.8     3.8   3.3  -   4.3
    Minnesota.......    3,523    3,556    2,625    2,682    2,539    2,613       86       68    3.3     2.5   2.1  -   2.9
    Missouri........    4,080    4,109    2,893    2,857    2,770    2,738      123      119    4.2     4.2   3.7  -   4.7
    Nebraska........    1,236    1,241      906      916      883      892       24       25    2.6     2.7   2.3  -   3.1
    North Dakota....      479      480      348      347      339      336        9       11    2.5     3.2   2.7  -   3.7
    South Dakota....      546      547      390      398      378      386       12       11    3.1     2.9   2.5  -   3.4
                                                                                                                          
South...............   71,491   72,524   47,176   47,834   44,851   45,722    2,325    2,113    4.9     4.4   4.3  -   4.5
  South Atlantic....   37,011   37,530   24,441   24,706   23,331   23,702    1,110    1,004    4.5     4.1   3.9  -   4.3
    Delaware........      567      574      382      392      366      377       15       15    4.0     3.8   3.3  -   4.3
    District of                                                                                                           
   Columbia.........      418      414      258      267      238      244       20       24    7.9     8.8   8.0  -   9.6
    Florida.........   11,425   11,610    7,119    7,228    6,781    6,918      339      310    4.8     4.3   4.0  -   4.6
    Georgia.........    5,637    5,758    3,907    4,021    3,730    3,852      177      169    4.5     4.2   3.7  -   4.7
    Maryland........    3,905    3,941    2,784    2,756    2,642    2,631      141      125    5.1     4.6   4.0  -   5.2
    North Carolina..    5,605    5,680    3,844    3,794    3,705    3,663      139      131    3.6     3.5   3.1  -   3.9
    South Carolina..    2,897    2,942    1,931    1,959    1,843    1,884       87       75    4.5     3.8   3.3  -   4.3
    Virginia........    5,108    5,159    3,413    3,488    3,278    3,386      135      102    4.0     2.9   2.5  -   3.3
    West Virginia...    1,449    1,452      803      800      748      747       55       53    6.9     6.6   5.9  -   7.3
                                                                                                                          
  East South Central   12,526   12,647    8,056    8,105    7,624    7,741      432      364    5.4     4.5   4.2  -   4.8
    Alabama.........    3,329    3,356    2,168    2,153    2,058    2,062      110       91    5.1     4.2   3.7  -   4.7
    Kentucky........    3,002    3,020    1,917    1,924    1,814    1,835      103       89    5.4     4.6   4.0  -   5.2
    Mississippi.....    2,037    2,059    1,262    1,269    1,190    1,200       72       68    5.7     5.4   4.8  -   6.0
    Tennessee.......    4,158    4,212    2,708    2,760    2,562    2,644      146      116    5.4     4.2   3.7  -   4.7
                                                                                                                          
  West South Central   21,954   22,347   14,679   15,024   13,896   14,279      783      745    5.3     5.0   4.8  -   5.2
    Arkansas........    1,923    1,941    1,214    1,215    1,150    1,148       64       67    5.3     5.5   4.9  -   6.1
    Louisiana.......    3,243    3,274    2,014    2,063    1,891    1,945      123      118    6.1     5.7   5.1  -   6.3
    Oklahoma........    2,494    2,521    1,601    1,627    1,535    1,554       66       74    4.1     4.5   3.9  -   5.1
    Texas...........   14,294   14,611    9,850   10,118    9,320    9,631      530      487    5.4     4.8   4.5  -   5.1
                                                                                                                          
West................   44,469   45,345   29,984   30,755   28,311   29,105    1,673    1,650    5.6     5.4   5.2  -   5.6
  Mountain..........   12,322   12,598    8,414    8,710    8,052    8,328      362      383    4.3     4.4   4.2  -   4.6
    Arizona.........    3,426    3,525    2,185    2,272    2,083    2,178      102       94    4.6     4.1   3.6  -   4.6
    Colorado........    2,955    3,016    2,152    2,246    2,081    2,159       70       86    3.3     3.8   3.3  -   4.3
    Idaho...........      897      917      633      653      599      620       34       33    5.3     5.0   4.4  -   5.6
    Montana.........      677      682      455      468      431      442       24       26    5.4     5.6   5.0  -   6.2
    Nevada..........    1,271    1,319      883      920      847      880       36       40    4.1     4.3   3.8  -   4.8
    New Mexico......    1,282    1,295      815      831      764      780       51       51    6.2     6.2   5.5  -   6.9
    Utah............    1,450    1,477    1,040    1,063    1,008    1,023       32       40    3.1     3.8   3.3  -   4.3
    Wyoming.........      364      367      251      258      239      246       13       12    5.1     4.8   4.2  -   5.4
                                                                                                                          
  Pacific...........   32,147   32,747   21,570   22,045   20,259   20,777    1,310    1,267    6.1     5.7   5.5  -   5.9
    Alaska..........      425      427      315      317      290      299       25       18    7.9     5.8   5.2  -   6.4
    California......   24,064   24,559   15,941   16,329   14,937   15,361    1,004      969    6.3     5.9   5.6  -   6.2
    Hawaii..........      880      886      597      597      559      560       38       37    6.4     6.2   5.5  -   6.9
    Oregon..........    2,519    2,550    1,728    1,762    1,627    1,664      101       98    5.8     5.6   5.0  -   6.2
    Washington......    4,259    4,325    2,989    3,039    2,847    2,895      142      145    4.8     4.8   4.2  -   5.4
                                                                                                                          
Puerto Rico(3)......    2,722    2,760    1,308    1,311    1,132    1,136      176      175   13.5    13.3       (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 Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.
  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.