Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) released its monthly state-by-state report today, showing that the recovery, while uneven from state to state and across different sectors, continued in September, with eighteen states and the District of Columbia experiencing private sector job growth during the month.

The unemployment rate in September 2010 declined from the prior month in 23 states and the District of Columbia.  Since the end of 2009, the unemployment rate has fallen in 29 states and the District of Columbia.

“This new round of state data provides fresh evidence of a steady recovery.  More than 80 percent of states have added private sector jobs in at least five months this year and most states are making consistent, significant progress,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Chair of the JEC.  “I am optimistic that as the policies we have put in place such as the Small Business Jobs Act begin to take hold, we will see these state reports continue to improve."

Other highlights include:

• Forty-one states and the District of Columbia have added private sector jobs in at least five of the first nine months of 2010.

• In an improvement over August, 21 states added manufacturing jobs in September 2010, compared to only 17 states in August, and 27 states have experienced growth in manufacturing employment in at least five of the first nine months of 2010.

• Twenty-four states and the District of Columbia added jobs in the professional and business services sector in September 2010, with California gaining jobs in this sector in each of the first nine months of 2010.

• Half of the states (25) had jobs gains in September 2010 in the financial activities sector.  This was the largest number of states to gain jobs in this sector since April of this year.

The report, entitled “Understanding the Economy: State-by-State Snapshots,” features key economic statistics for each state.  The report is the tenth edition released by the JEC and uses recently released state-level data to explain how the economic recovery is unfolding in each state.

###

The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
www.jec.senate.gov