Labor Report Offers Mixed Signals

The unemployment rate fell in 39 states and Washington D.C. in the month of June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. That’s the good news.  The bad news? The reason  for the decline was largely the result of more people ending their job searches and no longer being counted, the Associated Press reports.

While a majority of states saw their unemployment rates decline, only 21 states had a net gain in jobs in June, which is down from 41 the previous year and the fewest this year. That was largely the result of temporary Census workers being laid off.

Nationwide there was a net gain of 83,000 jobs last month and the national unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent in June from 9.7 percent the previous month. According to the AP, about 650,000 people stopped looking for work last month.

New Hampshire reported the largest drop in unemployment as its rate fell to 5.9 percent from 6.4 percent.

Nevada had the nation’s highest unemployment rate at 14.2 percent. The AP reports that’s the highest rate for the state since it began keeping records in 1976.

Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina had the nation’s largest job gains. The Lone Star State led the way with a net increase of 14,000 jobs.