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Jobless Rate Rises in More than Half of US States
The unemployment rate rose in more than half of the 50 US states in July, according to a report released Monday by US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The figures reflect weaker job prospects and sluggish economic growth despite a nationwide drop in the official jobless rate, to 7.4 percent from June’s 7.6 percent.
Nearly five years after the Wall Street crash, the BLS report shows many states continue to experience significant declines in employment as a result of state and local budget cuts as well as the deepening impact of the sequestration order signed by President Obama in March of this year.
According the BLS report, jobless rates increased in 28 states, were unchanged in 14, and fell in eight. Unemployment rose sharply in seven US states, ticking up .3 percent in Alaska and Georgia, while rising by .2 percent in California, Iowa, Nebraska, Vermont and Virginia.
Nevada, which continues to feel the impact of the housing crisis, had the highest July unemployment rate, 9.5 percent. Nevada was followed by Illinois, with 9.2 percent jobless, and North Carolina and Rhode Island, both at 8.9 percent. North Dakota continued to have the lowest jobless rate, at 3.0 percent. Only Mississippi saw a significant drop in unemployment, from 9 percent to 8.5 percent.
The West continued to have the highest regional unemployment rate in July, 7.9 percent, while the Midwest and the South had the lowest, 7.3 percent each. While the Northeast region’s jobless rate held steady at 7.6 percent, the New England rate rose by .1 percent, to 7.2 percent.