Unemployment Rates Drop in 10 States and D.C.

(CN) - Ten states and the District of Columbia saw "statistically significant" declines in their unemployment rates over the past year, with the largest of those decreases occurring in Arkansas, California and Tennessee.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that in Arkansas the number of unemployed declined from 68,990 to 52,709 over the July 2015 to July 2016 period, a decrease of 16,281.

In Tennessee, there was a decrease of 38,652, as the number of unemployed declined from 172,114 to 133,492, the department said.

In California over this time period, the number of unemployed fell by 113,749 people, the largest decrease nationwide.

Wednesday's report wasn't all gravy, however.

Three states saw significant over-the-year unemployment rate increases: North Dakota (+0.4 percentage points), Iowa (+0.5 percentage points), and Wyoming (+1.4 percentage points).

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