WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Economic activity contracted in every one of the 50 U.S states in December, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia says.
The Los Angeles Times reported that December marked the first time all states have shown simultaneous declines in the Federal Reserve Bank's 30-year history of tracking the data.
Overall, for the fourth quarter, economic activity declined in all but four states -- Louisiana, Wyoming and North Dakota and Alaska.
The newspaper said the Philadelphia Fed's indexes are calculated based on changes in non-farm payroll employment, average hours worked in manufacturing, the unemployment rate and wage and salary disbursements.
When it comes to unemployment numbers, all 50 states recorded an increase in the jobless rate in December, Stateline.org reported.
The national unemployment rate rose from 6.8 percent to 7.2 percent for December, compared with 4.9 percent in December 2007.
