April 19, 2024

Unemployment rose in all 50 U.S. states in April: Labor Department’s BLS

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FILE PHOTO: People who lost their jobs are reflected in the door of an Arkansas Workforce Center as they wait in line to file for unemployment following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. April 6, 2020. REUTERS/Nick Oxford -/File Photo/File Photo

(Reuters) – Unemployment rates rose and total employment fell in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in April as efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to close across the United States, the Labor Department said on Friday.

The department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said 43 states set record-high levels of unemployment last month, with the highest being in Nevada, the state with the greatest reliance on the hard-hit food services and hospitality industry. The rate in Nevada surged 24.2 percentage points to 28.2% – nearly twice April’s national employment rate of 14.7%.

Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama

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