For Immediate Release: Friday, December 17, 2010
Contact: Phoebe Silag or Karen Conner, news@epi.org 202-775-8810
Today, just over a week before Christmas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released state level jobs and unemployment data that indicate many families across the country will have little to celebrate during the holidays. These data mark the 19th consecutive month – a new record – that the national unemployment rate is over 9%. In November, 35 months after the recession began, 21 states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rates at least that high, and nine states had rates over 10%. In short, the negative effects of the Great Recession are lasting much longer than those of any other post-war recession.
State unemployment rates ranged from a high of 14.3% in Nevada, to a low of 3.8% in North Dakota in November. California is now tied with Michigan for the second worst unemployment rate, at 12.4%. Over the last 6 months, only nine states and the District of Columbia have experienced job growth greater than population growth.
Every month that passes without improvements in these jobs and unemployment numbers is another month of hardship for the millions of unemployed workers in this country. Unfortunately, until Congress realizes that this is a crisis that needs immediate attention, the economy is unlikely to recover any time soon.
More state data are available on EPI’s interactive web site EconomyTrack.org
Unemployment Rate by State
November 2010 compared to
start of recession, Dec. 2007
Dec-07 Nov-10
|
UNITED STATES |
5.0% |
9.8% |
|
Alabama |
3.9% |
9.0% |
|
Alaska |
6.2% |
8.0% |
|
Arizona |
4.3% |
9.4% |
|
Arkansas |
5.0% |
7.9% |
|
California |
5.8% |
12.4% |
|
Colorado |
4.3% |
8.6% |
|
Connecticut |
4.9% |
9.0% |
|
Delaware |
3.8% |
8.4% |
|
District of Columbia |
5.5% |
9.8% |
|
Florida |
4.7% |
12.0% |
|
Georgia |
5.1% |
10.1% |
|
Hawaii |
3.0% |
6.4% |
|
Idaho |
3.5% |
9.4% |
|
Illinois |
5.5% |
9.6% |
|
Indiana |
4.6% |
9.8% |
|
Iowa |
3.9% |
6.6% |
|
Kansas |
4.0% |
6.8% |
|
Kentucky |
5.5% |
10.2% |
|
Louisiana |
3.8% |
8.2% |
|
Maine |
4.7% |
7.3% |
|
Maryland |
3.5% |
7.4% |
|
Massachusetts |
4.4% |
8.2% |
|
Michigan |
7.1% |
12.4% |
|
Minnesota |
4.7% |
7.1% |
|
Mississippi |
6.1% |
9.9% |
|
Missouri |
5.3% |
9.4% |
|
Montana |
3.9% |
7.2% |
|
Nebraska |
2.9% |
4.6% |
|
Nevada |
5.2% |
14.3% |
|
New Hampshire |
3.4% |
5.4% |
|
New Jersey |
4.5% |
9.2% |
|
New Mexico |
3.6% |
8.5% |
|
New York |
4.7% |
8.3% |
|
North Carolina |
4.9% |
9.7% |
|
North Dakota |
3.0% |
3.8% |
|
Ohio |
5.6% |
9.8% |
|
Oklahoma |
3.6% |
6.9% |
|
Oregon |
5.2% |
10.6% |
|
Pennsylvania |
4.5% |
8.6% |
|
Rhode Island |
6.0% |
11.6% |
|
South Carolina |
5.6% |
10.6% |
|
South Dakota |
2.8% |
4.5% |
|
Tennessee |
5.5% |
9.4% |
|
Texas |
4.4% |
8.2% |
|
Utah |
3.1% |
7.5% |
|
Vermont |
4.0% |
5.7% |
|
Virginia |
3.2% |
6.8% |
|
Washington |
4.6% |
9.2% |
|
West Virginia |
4.0% |
9.3% |
|
Wisconsin |
4.5% |
7.6% |
|
Wyoming |
2.8% |
6.6% |