Among the 50 states, California in the West and Rhode Island in the East tied in January for the highest jobless rate in the nation, 9.8%, while North Dakota was the lowest at 3.3%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And unsurprisingly, Texas led the nation in payroll job growth, just as it did in January of last year.

As BLS documented, California’s employment was poor despite the fact that most Western states grew in job growth over the last 12 months.

The Northeast, more closely linked with the European economy, fared much worse. Its job growth was 1.1%. The Midwest’s results fell between the West and the Northeast’s.