Regional and state unemployment rates were little changed in October. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate decreases, 14 states registered rate increases, and 17 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 16 states reported increases, and 5 states had no change. The national jobless rate was unchanged in October at 9.6 percent but was down from 10.1 percent a year earlier.

In October, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia, decreased in 6 states, and was unchanged in 3 states. The largest over-the-month increases in employment occurred in Texas (+47,900), New York (+40,600), California (+38,900), Michigan (+19,000), and Arkansas (+17,400). The largest over- the-month percentage increases in employment were in Arkansas (+1.5 percent), New Mexico (+0.8 percent), and Maine and North Dakota (+0.7 percent each). The largest over-the-month employment decreases were in Delaware (-3,000), Missouri (-2,900), and Nevada and Virginia (-2,200 each). The largest over-the-month percentage decreases in employment occurred in Delaware (-0.7 percent), Nevada (-0.2 percent), and Missouri and Virginia (-0.1 percent each). Over the year, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 36 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in 14 states. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was reported in the District of Columbia (+2.9 percent), followed by New Hampshire (+2.6 percent), Texas (+1.7 percent), and Minnesota and North Dakota (+1.6 percent each). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Nevada (-2.4 percent), followed by New Jersey (-1.0 percent), Montana (-0.9 percent), Rhode Island (-0.8 percent), and Missouri (-0.7 percent).

Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

The West reported the highest regional unemployment rate in October, 10.8 percent, while the Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 8.5 percent. No region experienced a statistically significant over-the month unemployment rate change, but the Midwest and Northeast registered significant rate changes from a year earlier (-0.8 and -0.5 percentage point, respectively).

Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific continued to report the highest jobless rate, 11.5 percent in October. The West North Central registered the lowest rate, 7.1 percent, followed by the West South Central, at 7.9 percent. The only division with a statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate change was New England (-0.2 percentage point). Over the year, two divisions posted measurable rate decreases: the East South Central (-1.3 percentage points) and East North Central (-0.9 point). The Mountain experienced the only statistically significant unemployment rate increase from a year earlier (+0.6 percentage point).

State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Nevada continued to register the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.2 percent in October. The states with the next highest rates were Michigan, 12.8 percent, and California, 12.4 percent. North Dakota reported the lowest jobless rate, 3.8 percent, followed by South Dakota and Nebraska, at 4.5 and 4.7 percent, respectively. In total, 27 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 9.6 percent, 5 states recorded measurably higher rates, and 18 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

In October, two states experienced statistically significant unemployment rate changes from September: Maine and Massachusetts (-0.3 percentage point each). The remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia registered jobless rates that were not measurably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.

Eleven states reported statistically significant over-the-year jobless rate decreases in October, the largest of which were in Alabama (-1.9 percentage points) and Michigan (-1.6 points). The District of Columbia also posted a significant over-the-year unemployment rate decrease (-1.7 percentage points). Utah recorded the only significant rate increase from October 2009 (+0.9 percentage point). The remaining 38 states registered unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier.

Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Between September and October, 18 states recorded statistically significant changes in employment. The largest over-the-month statistically significant job gains occurred in Texas (+47,900), New York (+40,600), and California (+38,900). The only over-the-month statistically significant job loss occurred in Delaware (-3,000).

Over the year, 12 states and the District of Columbia reported statistically significant employment increases, while one state experienced a statistically significant decline in employment. The largest statistically significant over-the-year employment increases were posted in Texas (+172,800), Pennsylvania (+48,800), and Minnesota (+42,000). The only statistically significant over-the-year job loss occurred in New Jersey (-37,100).