FILE - In this Thursday, Nov. 14, 2013, file photo, retired U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas Gipson, of Atlanta, right, has his resume looked over by Ralph Brown, a management and program analyst with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during a job fair for veterans at the VFW Post 2681,Marietta, Ga. The government reports on state unemployment rates for March on Friday, April 18, 2014. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
April 18, 2014 - 7:30 AM
WASHINGTON - More than two-thirds of the states reported job gains in March, as hiring improves for much of the country during what has been a sluggish but sustained 4 1/2-year recovery.
The Labor Department says unemployment rates dropped in 21 states, rose in 17 and was unchanged in the remaining 12. Meanwhile, hiring increased in 34 states and fell in 16.
The unemployment rate varies from as low as 2.6 per cent in North Dakota to as much as 8.7 per cent in Rhode Island. South Carolina has experienced the sharpest decline over 12 months to 5.5 per cent from 8 per cent.
The rate nationwide stayed at 6.7 per cent in March for the second straight month.
Employers added 192,000 jobs nationwide in March, close to the average monthly gains of the past two years.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014