The latest regional unemployment data from the US Labor Department continues to paint a startling depiction of how great the job loss chasm that splitting the United States is.
While states like Michigan, California, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Indiana, Oregon, Rhode Island and South Carolina all have unemployment rates firmly in the double digits, other states in America like North Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska have rates as low as 4.2 per cent, 4.5 per cent and 4.6 per cent.
Here’s the breakdown from the Labour Department:
In March, Michigan again reported the highest jobless rate, 12.6 percent. The states with the next highest rates were Oregon, 12.1 percent; South Carolina, 11.4 percent; California, 11.2 percent; North Carolina, 10.8 percent; Rhode Island, 10.5 percent; Nevada, 10.4 percent; and Indiana, 10.0 percent. Nine additional states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rates of at least 9.0 percent. The California and North Carolina rates were the highest on record for those states. (All state series begin in 1976.) North Dakota registered the lowest unemployment rate, 4.2 percent, in March. Overall, 12 states and the District of Columbia had significantly higher jobless rates than the U.S. figure of 8.5 percent, 25 states reported measurably lower rates, and 13 states had rates little different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3 and chart 1.)
The situation for California of course is perhaps the most dire. The state saw the largest over-the-month employment decrease, with its unemployment rate hitting 11.2 per cent — the highest level since the US government began collecting state unemployment statistics.
Related link:
Mapping the unemployment crisis, US edition – FT Alphaville
Recession, depression, secession- FT Alphaville