Today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics release of state-level employment and unemployment data echoes the slow national employment growth in May, with 16 states experiencing job loss in the preceding three-month period (February 2012 to May 2012), twice as many as experienced three-month job loss in the April report.

MORE: Sort through updated graphs and data for major economic indicators on EPI’s State of Working America

The number of states with unemployment rates greater than 10.0 percent remains at three – Nevada, Rhode Island and California – while a total of six states and the District of Columbia have rates greater than 9.0 percent.

One positive note in the monthly data can be seen in Michigan, where measures taken to save the auto sector have resulted in ongoing job growth.

The continued erosion of public-sector employment highlights the extent to which policymakers at both the national and state levels have undermined economic recovery through shortsighted austerity measures. While teachers, police and firefighters have been bearing the brunt of these cuts, we all have suffered from the resulting drag on the economy.