The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its latest monthly jobs and unemployment numbers for the states, and these numbers are now available on the AFL-CIO Facts & Stats database. The user-friendly database enables visitors to compare state statistics—as well as national indicators—on issues such as health care, poverty, bankruptcy, trade and more.

For example, in the manufacturing industry:
 
54,200 jobs have been lost in Missouri.
190,600 jobs have been lost in Ohio.
184,900 jobs have been lost in Pennsylvania.
 

In the information sector:
 
10,200 jobs have been lost in Arizona.
37,500 jobs have been lost in Colorado.
33,700 jobs have been lost in Virginia.
 

Using Facts & Stats, you can determine the number of unemployed workers in each state and the total unemployed workforce. You’ll see the unemployment rate is higher today nationwide and in 38 states than it was when President Bush came into office.
 
Do you need info on college costs? We’ve recently added those data to Facts & Stats, using the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics on college costs for four-year private and public colleges and two-year public colleges.
 
The database shows that over the past five school years, public college tuition for four-year colleges has increased by 86 percent in South Carolina, 58 percent in Tennessee, 55 percent in Alabama and 79 percent in Ohio. Tuition for two-year public colleges has likewise jumped. Tuition for these schools has more than doubled in California (an increase of 127 percent) and in South Carolina (110 percent) and has nearly doubled in Kentucky, where tuition increased by 94 percent over this five-year period.
 
Find these and other important facts and statistics at the Facts & Stats website.