From the Joint Economic Committee:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report today on regional and state employment and unemployment for April (available at: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/laus.pdf ). A summary of the report can be found at the Joint Economic Committee website at: http://jec.senate.gov/_files/StateEmploymentStatisticsApril2005JEC.pdf ).
Highlights of the report:
· Non-farm payroll employment increased in 46 states and the District of Columbia in April and decreased in 4 states.
Ø Job gains of 10,000 or more occurred in Florida (+21,000), California (+20,400), Illinois (+17,700), Nevada (+13,500), North Carolina (+13,400), Texas (+12,100), and Michigan (+10,000). Job losses were reported in Colorado (-3,600), Delaware (-1,800), Louisiana (-500), and West Virginia (-200).
Ø The largest over-the-month percentage increases in employment were in Nevada, the District of Columbia, North Dakota, Idaho, South Dakota, Iowa, and Wyoming. The largest over-the-month percentage losses in employment were in Delaware and Colorado.
· Over the year ending in April, non-farm payroll employment increased in 48 states and the District of Columbia and fell in 2 states (Michigan and South Carolina). The largest percentage gains were in Nevada (+6.4%), Arizona (+3.9%), Utah (+3.5%), Oregon (+3.3%), and Florida (+3.0%).
· Three states recorded over-the-month unemployment rate decreases that were statistically significant in April (Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota). Virginia and Washington were the only two states with statistically significant unemployment rate increases in April (+0.3 percentage point each).