Unemployment figures increased in many states

Home > In Focus > Economy & Government News

The unemployment rate continues to show little sign of easing, at the state level as well as at the national level.

The latest state by state figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that 23 states, plus the District of Columbia, recorded over the month unemployment rate increases, while 19 saw decreases and eight saw no change.

The national unemployment rate stands at 9.8 percent, which is said to be 3.6 points higher than the level recorded in September 2008. Broken down by region, the Western states led with a 10.6 percent rate, compared to the Northeast, which had 9.0 percent unemployment.

Among the states, Michigan led the nation with a 15.3 percent unemployment rate, followed by Nevada at 13.3 percent, Rhode Island at 13 percent and California at 12.2 percent.

Also this week, the Department of Labor reported that 531,000 workers had filed for first-time unemployment benefits, which marked an increase 11,000 from the previous week. This would seem to confirm the projection by many economists that the recovery will be slow and difficult.

By Steve Monfort