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Unemployment Hitting 10% In 15 States – Michigan & California Leading The Pack
Unemployment topped 10 percent in 15 states and the District of Columbia last month, according to federal data released Friday. The rate in Michigan surpassed 15 percent, the first time any state hit that mark since 1984.
Home to the nation’s struggling auto makers, Michigan has been clobbered by lost factory jobs. Its jobless rate of 15.2 percent in June was the highest in the country, but the record-high for the state was 16.9 percent in November 1982.
Still, the Labor Department said it’s the first time in 25 years that any state has suffered an unemployment rate of at least 15 percent. In 1984, it was West Virginia.
The national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, a 26-year high, and is expected to hit 10 percent by year-end. In May, the jobless rate topped 10 percent in 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The state unemployment report underscores the damage that the longest recession since World War II has inflicted on companies, workers and communities.
Update - Michigan:
The unemployment rate for the country reached 9.5% in June, but the picture is a lot worse in many states.
The Labor Department this morning said that 14 states and the District of Columbia had unemployment rates above 10%.
Michigan had the highest unemployment rate, at 15.2%, last month. The state has been hit especially hard during this recession as two of the three big U.S. automakers underwent bankruptcy proceedings. Michigan’s jobless rate was the highest of any state since March 1984.
Rhode Island had the second-highest unemployment rate in June at 12.4%, followed by Oregon at 12.2%. California’s jobless rate held at a record 11.6% for a second month. Unemployment in the District of Columbia was 10.9% in June.
Michigan also recorded the highest yearly increase in its unemployment rate, at 7.1 percentage points. Oregon followed, with a year-over-year increase of 6.3 percentage points.
A number of states also hit their highest level of unemployment since records began in 1976. They were Georgia, Nevada, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Florida and Delaware.
Update – California:
Unemployment continues to scrape new depths in California, and Mid-Valley counties are among the hardest hit.
Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties ranked third, fourth and fifth in joblessness in June, according to a state Employment Development Department monthly report published today.
Unemployment reached 18.1 percent in Yuba County, 18 percent in Sutter County and 17.6 in Colusa County. In Butte County, 13.3 percent of the workforce lacked jobs in June.
The state’s highest jobless rate was in Imperial County, 27.5 percent. Marin County’s state-low unemployment rate was 8 percent, making it one of only eight counties with a rate in the single digits.
California shed 66,500 jobs from May to June, the employment department said. The state has lost more than 766,000 jobs since June 2008.
The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed at 11.6 percent, far above the 7.1 percent figure a year earlier — and ahead of the nation’s 9.5 percent rate, the highest since the 1981-83 recession.
Nearly all employment sectors had lower employment compared to May, with the professional and business services sector dropping 13,700 jobs for the month. Construction work forces also shrank, continuing a trend that has cost that industry 18.6 percent of its jobs in the past year.
Only health care and education expanded, with 19,500 more positions, a 1.1 percent increase.
Some 2.1 million Californians were out of work, a jump of 850,000 from a year earlier.
NO END IN SIGHT
Unemployment rates in June for the Mid-Valley and California:
1. Imperial County, 27.5 percent
2. Alpine County, 18.6 percent
3. Yuba County, 18.1 percent
4. Sutter County, 18 percent
5. (tie) Colusa County, 17.6 percent
5. (tie) Merced County, 17.6 percent
25. Butte County, 13.3 percent
58. Marin County, 8 percent
California: 11.6 percent
United States: 9.5 percent
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