Unemployment rates fall in 29 US states
Unemployment rates fell last month in most U.S. states, including in some hit hardest during the recession. The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates declined in 29 states and rose in 8. Rates were unchanged in 13 states and Washington, D.C. The improvement was broader last month: rates fell in 45 states in January.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates fell last month in most U.S. states, including in some hit hardest during the recession.
The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates declined in 29 states and rose in 8. Rates were unchanged in 13 states and Washington, D.C. The improvement was broader last month: rates fell in 45 states in January.
Still, job growth was more widespread than in previous months. Employers added jobs in 42 states, the most in almost a year. Ohio, Texas and New York reported the biggest job gains.
Nationwide, the economy added 227,000 net jobs in February and has averaged 245,000 jobs per month since December. That’s helped lower the unemployment to 8.3 percent, the lowest level in three years.
The economy is expanding only modestly. But economists expect the stronger job market will help lift growth later this year.
And fresh data released Friday suggest that may already be happening. Consumer spending rose 0.8 percent in February, the Commerce Department said. That’s the best gain in seven months.
North Dakota continued to report the lowest unemployment rate, at 3.1 percent, followed by Nebraska, at 4 percent.
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