US unemployment rate drops in most states in December

The US unemployment rate declined in 42 states in December, signaling towards a strong hiring and increased job opportunities across the nation.

The US Labor Department report, released on Tuesday, showed that the jobless rates increased in only four states in December last year and were unchanged in four others.

42 states and the District of Columbia witnessed a decline in their seasonally adjusted rates of unemployment last month as compared to the figures of November, according to the Labor Department. The report showed that the 46 states saw a decline from a year earlier.

The jobless rates increased in four states from November, while holding the rates steady in another four.

Delaware had the biggest fall from December, 0.6 percentage point to 5.4 percent. It was followed by Michigan which fell 0.4 percentage point to 6.3 percent and North Carolina dropped 0.4 percentage point to 5.5 percent.

Rhode Island and Illinois witnessed the biggest declines over the year, while the rate actually rose 1.3 percentage points in Louisiana from December 2013.

North Dakota recorded the lowest unemployment rate at 2.8 percent. Mississippi had the highest rate of unemployment in December among the states at 7.2 percent, and the District of Columbia saw a 7.3 percent jobless rate.

The unemployment rate in Midwest remained at the lowest level at 5.2 percent, and the West reported the highest rate at 6.3 percent.

All four regions also witnessed remarkable declines in the unemployment rate from a year ago, dropping 0.8 percentage points in the South, 1.1 percentage points in the West, 1.3 percentage points in the Northeast and 1.6 percentage points in the Midwest.

19 states reported rates remarkably lower than the US figure of 5.6 percent, 10 states and the District of Columbia had measurably increased rates, while 21 states witnessed rates not appreciably different.

Nonfarm payroll employment surged in all 50 states in the month of December from the same time a year ago, with the biggest percentage hikes occurring in Texas, Utah and North Dakota.