Good News/Bad News- Unemployment Drops To 7.5%, Labor Participation Still At 1979 Levels

By Susan Duclos

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.

 Reuters explains, the good news and the bad news in this report - the jobless rate reflected a gain in employment, rather than people leaving the workforce.

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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