State Unemployment Rates August 2009

September 18, 2009. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia reported unemployment rate increases during August, 16 states registered rate decreases, and 7 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. See the chart.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent in August. Michigan continued to have the highest unemployment rate among the states, 15.2 percent. Nevada recorded the next highest rate, 13.2 percent, followed by Rhode Island, 12.8 percent, and California and Oregon, 12.2 percent each. The rates in California, Nevada, and Rhode Island set new series highs. North Dakota again registered the lowest jobless rate, 4.3 percent in August, followed by South Dakota, 4.9 percent, and Nebraska, 5.0 percent. In total, 27 states posted jobless rates signifi- cantly lower than the U.S. figure of 9.7 percent, 11 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 12 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

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Sources, The US Bureau for Labor Statistics.

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