The West continued to report the highest unemployment rate in the nation -- 5.6% in October -- thanks to Washington and Oregon, which posted seasonally adjusted rates of 6.6% and 6.5%, respectively.
Nationwide, 33 states posted higher unemployment in October than in September, eight states posted lower rates and nine states remained unchanged. As a result, the national jobless rate rose to 5.4% in October. The Midwest and Northeast registered the lowest rates, 4.6% each. All four regions posted rate increases of 0.8-1.0 percentage point over the year.
The regional and state labor market data for the month of October reflect the impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11, states the BLS in its report. The labor market had been weakening before the attacks, and those events exacerbated this weakness, according to the BLS.
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