The unemployment rate for April dropped to 7.5 percent, according to the BLS report issued on May 3, 2013 but the labor participation rate remains at 63.3%, still the lowest levels since 1979.
The workforce actually expanded, while the labor force participation rate - the share of working-age Americans who either have a job or are looking for one - held steady at a 34-year low of 63.3 percent.
Still, some details of the report remained consistent with a slowdown in economic activity. Construction employment fell for the first time since May, while manufacturing payrolls were flat.
Areas still at or above official unemployment rate: (seasonally adjusted)
Arizona- 7.9%
California- 9.4%
Connecticut- 8.0%
D.C.- 8.5%
Florida- 7.5%
Georgia- 8.4%
Illinois- 9.5%
Indiana- 8.7%
Kentucky- 8.0%
Michigan- 8.5%
Mississippi- 9.4%
Nevada- 9.7%
New Jersey- 9.0%
New York - 8.2%
North Carolina- 9.2%
Oregon- 8.2%
Pennsylvania- 7.9%
Rhode Island- 9.1%
South Carolina- 8.4%
Tennessee- 7.9%
Data obtained from Bureau of Labor Statistics on the Local Area Unemployment Statistics page. (Right side)
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