Unemployment rates fall in most U.S. election swing states

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The unemployment rate fell last month in most states considered key to the U.S. presidential election, including Nevada and Colorado, data from the Labor Department showed on Friday.

Overall, regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in September. Jobless rates fell in 41 states and the District of Columbia in September from August, rose in six and were unchanged in three states.

Compared with last year, jobless rates fell in 44 states and the District of Columbia and rose in six.

The contest between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is heating up in states where polls suggest voters are undecided.

The election is on November 6, a little under three weeks.

The national unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, it lowest since President Obama took office nearly four years ago.

But the slow pace of economic growth and high level of unemployment have been a focal point of the campaigns ahead of the election. Of the eleven states where the polls are currently tight, about half had unemployment rates above the national average.

Nevada, considered to be one of the battlegrounds of the election, had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 11.8 percent, down from 12.1 percent in August. In Colorado, the jobless rate fell to 8 percent in September from 8.2 percent the previous month.

Unemployment fell in eight other such swing states, with North Carolina at 9.6 percent and Wisconsin down to 7.3 percent. Virginia and New Hampshire held steady, while Pennsylvania's jobless rate rose to 8.2 percent from 8.1.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/unemployment-rates-fall-most-u-election-swing-states-153551094--business.html

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