Jobless Rates Drop in Almost All U.S. States

The Labor Department reports unemployment rates fell in 42 states.

Jobless rates ended 2012 lower than where they began, according to the Labor Department. The labor department previously announced a 5-year low in unemployment applications, largely attributing it to seasonality. The most recently released data show that, from December 2011, 42 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from December from a year earlier.

The trend is expected to carry over into 2013, with Standard & Poor’s saying it expects “total nonfarm employment growth to rise 1.6 percent in 2013,” in the eastern Atlantic region due to tourism. (Reuters)

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