There seems to be a broad-based strengthening in the labor market with the growth of payrolls in 42 U.S. states and a decline in unemployment rate in 39 states in April.

New York had a 45,700 increase in employment, at the top of list, followed by Texas with 32,900. New York City's unemployment fell 0.1 percentage point to 8.6 percent in April, and fell 1.2 percentage from last year's 9.8 percent. Other states with the biggest payroll gains are Pennsylvania (23,700), Massachusetts (19,500), and Florida (14,900).

While Nevada exhibited the most decrease in joblessness, it is still the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country, 12.5 percent, revealed by the Labor Department in Washington. California had the second-highest rate, 11.9 percent.

The government's May 6 report shows that 244,000 workers were added in April. The jobless rate fell 0.7 percent point in Nevada, and 0.5 percentage point in New Mexico and Oklahoma. In North Dakota, having the lowest jobless rate, the rate fell from 3.6 to 3.3 percent from March to April.

There was an increase in unemployment with a rise of 0.2 percentage point to 10.4 percent. There were also increases in Alabama, Tennessee, and in the District of Columbia.

For seven consecutive months, payrolls have grown.

California Mexico Florida New York