Recruiters talk to students at a 2024 job fair at South Dakota Mines University in Rapid City. South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, 2%, in September. (Photo courtesy of South Dakota Mines University)

September unemployment rates rose in 25 states and fell in 21 compared with last year, the government reported Dec. 11 in a shutdown-delayed analysis.

The largest increase compared with September 2024 was in Oregon, where the rate rose from 4.2% to 5.2%, followed by the District of Columbia, increasing from 5.3% to 6.2% and Delaware, up from 3.6% to 4.5%.

The largest drops were in Indiana, down from 4.4% to 3.7%, Illinois (5.0% to 4.4%) and Kentucky (5.3% to 4.7%).

Nationally unemployment rose to 4.4% from 4.1% last year and the number of unemployed people looking f

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