Unemployment falls in just 23 US states as hiring slows

Source: AP-Excite

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates fell in 23 U.S. states last month and rose in 12 as employers pulled back on hiring and a slowdown in oil and gas drilling caused big job losses in some states.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that unemployment rates were unchanged in 15 states. Thirty-one state lost jobs while hiring picked up in just 18 states.

The biggest job cuts occurred in states with large oil and gas drilling, led by Texas, which lost 25,400 jobs, and followed by Oklahoma, which cut 12,900. Pennsylvania lost 12,700, the third largest loss. A sharp fall in oil prices since last June has caused oil and gas companies to cut back on drilling.

Nationwide, employers added just 126,000 jobs in March, the fewest in a year. The unemployment rate remained 5.5 percent.

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FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2015 file photo, some of the 60 rigs that are drilling surrounding McKenzie County, 40 percent of the rigs statewide, work in western North Dakota. Released on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, unemployment rates fell in 23 U.S. states last month and rose in 12 as employers pulled back on hiring and a slowdown in oil and gas drilling caused big job losses in some states. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

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