Unemployment improved in 39 states in June

WASHINGTON, July 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Labor said the unemployment rate dropped in 39 states in June, when the national unemployment rate dropped to 9.7 percent.

In a report describing how individual states fared in June, the department said five states saw increased unemployment rates, while six registered no change.

The report released Tuesday follows the mostly positive figures from May, when 37 states saw decreases in unemployment rates compared with the previous month.

In June, the nation's capital also saw a decrease in joblessness.

Payrolls in June increased in 21 states plus the District of Columbia and fell in 22 states. Four others saw no change in payroll numbers.

Texas led the pack with 14,000 jobs added in June, followed by Kentucky with 6,200 and Arkansas with 6,000.

The largest net losses of jobs were in California, down by 27,600, New York, which lost 22,500 jobs, and Tennessee, which lost 20,800.

For the second consecutive month Nevada had the highest unemployment rate in the country with its rate rising from 14 percent to 14.2 percent. The rate in Michigan, again second in the nation, fell from 13.6 percent to 13.2 percent.

The lowest rate in the country in May was North Dakota -- 3.6 percent -- followed by South Dakota, where 4.5 percent were unemployed.