More hiring in the US has led to fall in unemployment rates in 23 US states. March was not as good for job gains as the previous month had been.

According to a report from the labor Department on Wednesday, a higher unemployment rate was reported by 11 states than in March. Though, no change occurred in 16 states. Job gains were reported by 40 states, while job losses were witnessed by nine states.

Some states saw the drag from lower oil prices that have been responsible for sharp cutbacks in oil drilling. Just 1,200 extra jobs were added by Texas, way down its average monthly gain of 34,000 last year.

The unemployment rate nationwide came down to a seven-year low of 5.4% as employers added a healthy 223,000 jobs in April. This has increased hopes for strong recovery in jobs market after only 85,000 jobs were created by the economy in March.

The lowest unemployment rate of 2.5% was reported by Nebraska, followed by Dakota at 3.1%. Since the great recession, North Dakota has witnessed the lowest rate for nearly every month, but layoffs by oil drillers caused the state to see the figure climbing from 2.7% a year earlier.