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    Unemployment data by states before 1976 is not conveniently
    available, but (depending on the validity needed) can be
    estimated.
    1. See Charles F Schwartz and Robert Graham, Personal Income by
       States since 1929 (supplement to Survey of Current Business,
       1956, reprinted by Greenwood)
 A. The usual source of unemployment estimates since 1940 is the
    monthly Current Population Survey. It uses a national sample and
    does not provide state or regional estimates.
 B. The decennial census has state breakdowns (but its national
    totals differ is 20% lower than A.)
 C. The Social Security Yearbook (and Social Security Bulletin)
    reports annual state data from Unemployment Insurance claims.
    This may be the best source, but see "The Measurement And
    Behavior of Unemployment" (Princeton UP, 1957), esp chapters by
    Parnes and Levine.
 D. The Labor Dept's Bureau of Economic Security for many years
    issued (mimeograph) a bimonthly labor market report, "Labor
    Market Developments in Major Areas" series ES-219, for 150
    metropolitan area labor markets. Estimates based on UI claims.
    These estimates can be aggregated to states (they cover 70% of
    nonfarm employment)
 E. I vaguely recall that William Bowen & Finegan, The Economics of
    Labor Force Participation (Princeton 1969) used state estimates
    --
    Richard Jensen, U of Illinois Chicago
    campbelld@apsu