Missouri had the largest employment decrease in the nation in July, losing 39,600 jobs from June, the U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday, while Illinois had one of the highest employment losses at 47,200 jobs from July 2002.
Missouri had 165,700 people unemployed in July, down from 168,300 in July 2002. Its unemployment rate dropped to 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent in the same month last year. The department showed 2,978,000 civilian workers in the state.
Illinois had 415,200 unemployed workers in July, down from 420,100 in July 2002. Its unemployment rate was 6.5 percent, down from 6.6 percent in July 2002. The department showed 6,431,500 workers in Illinois.
The West North Central region, which includes Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota and North and South Dakota, had the lowest rate of unemployment in the nation at 4.8 percent, while the Pacific region had 6.8 percent unemployment.
Oregon had the highest unemployment rate at 8.1 percent, while South Dakota had the lowest jobless rate at 3.3 percent.
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