Regional and state unemployment rates were nearly all higher in February. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, while all 50 states and the District of Columbia had higher rates than a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The national unemployment rate rose from 7.6 percent in January to 8.1 percent in February, which was 3.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier.

In February, nonfarm payroll employment decreased in 49 states and the District of Columbia and increased in 1 state (Louisiana). The largest over-the-month decreases in the level of employment were recorded in California(-116,000), Florida (-49,500), Texas (-46,100), and Pennsylvania (-41,000), while Alaska (-100) experienced the smallest decrease. The only state to report an over-the-month increase in the level of employment was Louisiana (+800 or less than +0.1 percent). Oregon reported the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment (-1.3 percent), followed by Arizona and Washington (-1.0 per-cent each), Connecticut and Georgia (-0.9 percent each), and California, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin (-0.8 percent each). Over the year, no farm employment decreased in 46 states and increased in 4 states and the District of Columbia. The largest over-the-yearpercentage decreases in employment were reported by Arizona (-6.7 percent), Michigan (-6.5 percent), Nevada (-5.2 percent), and Florida (-5.1 percent). The over-the-year percentage increases in employment were reported by Wyoming (+1.6 percent), the District of Columbia (+1.4 percent), Alaska (+0.9
percent), Louisiana (+0.3 percent), and North Dakota (+0.2 percent).

Regional Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

In February, the West and Midwest again posted the highest regionaljobless rates, 9.2 and 8.6 percent, respectively. The Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 7.7 percent. All four regions registered statistically significant unemployment rate increases from January, led by the Northeast (+0.6 percentage point). All four regions also reported significant jobless rate increases from February 2008, the largest of which was recorded in the West (+3.9 percentage points).

Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific and East NorthCentral recorded the highest unemployment rates in February, 10.1 and 9.5 percent, respectively. The West South Central registered the lowest jobless rate, 6.3 percent. Seven of the nine divisions reported statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate changes, all of which were increases: the Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic (+0.7 percentage point each); East North Central (+0.6 point); East South Central, Mountain, and Pacific (+0.5 point each); and New England (+0.3 point). All nine divisions had significant over-the-year rate increases, with the Pacific and South Atlantic recording the largest changes (+4.3 and +4.1 percentage points, respectively).

State Unemployment (Seasonally Adjusted)

In February, Michigan again reported the highest jobless rate, 12.0 percent. The states with the next highest rates were South Carolina, 11.0 percent; Oregon, 10.8 percent; North Carolina, 10.7 percent; California and Rhode Island, 10.5 percent each; and Nevada, 10.1 percent. Seven additional states and the District of Columbia reported unemployment rates over 9.0 percent. The North Carolina and Rhode Island rates were the highest on record for those states. Georgia, at 9.3 percent, also recorded a series high. (All state series begin in 1976.) Wyoming again registered the lowest unemployment rate, 3.9 percent in February. Overall, 13 states and the District of Columbia had significantly higher jobless rates than the U.S. figure of 8.1 percent, 21 states reported measurably lower rates, and 16 states had rates little different from that of the nation.

Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia recorded statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate increases in February. North Carolina and Oregon reported the largest of these (+1.0 percentage point each), followed closely by New Jersey (+0.9 point). Twenty-three states registered February unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.

North Carolina reported the largest jobless rate increase from a year earlier (+5.5 percentage points), followed by Oregon (+5.4 points) and South Carolina (+5.3 points). Seven additional states recorded rate increases of 4.0 percentage points or more, and 16 other states and the District of Columbia posted over-the-year rate increases of at least 3.0 percentage points. The remaining 24 states had smaller, but also statistically significant, rate increases from February 2008.

Nonfarm Payroll Employment (Seasonally Adjusted)

Between January and February 2009, 33 states recorded statistically significant changes in employment, all of which were decreases. The largest statistically significant decreases in employment were reported by California (-116,000), Florida (-49,500), Texas (-46,100), Pennsylvania (-41,000), Illinois (-37,200), and Georgia (-35,900).

Over the year, 39 states recorded statistically significant changes in employment, all of which were decreases. The largest statistically significant over-the-year decreases were reported in California (-605,900), Florida (-399,400), Michigan (-277,000), Ohio (-222,100), and Illinois (-206,300). Two states reported statistically significant over-the-year employment decreases that were less than 15,000: West Virginia (-13,500) and Vermont (-12,700).