US DATA: BLS Regional and state unemployment rates: “were generally
little changed or slightly lower in April. Thirty-nine states recorded
unemployment rate decreases, three states and the District of Columbia
registered rate increases, and eight states had no rate change, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Forty-six states and the
District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year
earlier, three states reported increases, and one state had no change.
The national jobless rate edged up by 0.2 percentage point between March
and April to 9.0 percent, but was 0.8 point lower than a year earlier