The unemployment rate of all the States for July 2009

[lunatica]

data compiled by the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. I live in California which ranks 47th along with Oregon at 11.9% (almost 12% unemployment). Worse off are Nevada, Rhode Island and Michigan. Somehow I'm not convince we're in a recovery

http://www.bls.gov/web/laumstrk.htm

Unemployment Rates for States
Monthly Rankings
Seasonally Adjusted
July 2009p*
Rank State Rate
1 NORTH DAKOTA 4.2
2 NEBRASKA 4.9
2 SOUTH DAKOTA 4.9
4 UTAH 6.0
5 IOWA 6.5
5 OKLAHOMA 6.5
5 WYOMING 6.5
8 MONTANA 6.7
9 NEW HAMPSHIRE 6.8
9 VERMONT 6.8
11 VIRGINIA 6.9
12 HAWAII 7.0
12 NEW MEXICO 7.0
14 MARYLAND 7.3
15 ARKANSAS 7.4
15 KANSAS 7.4
15 LOUISIANA 7.4
18 COLORADO 7.8
18 CONNECTICUT 7.8
20 TEXAS 7.9
21 MINNESOTA 8.1
22 DELAWARE 8.2
23 ALASKA 8.3
24 MAINE 8.4
25 PENNSYLVANIA 8.5
26 NEW YORK 8.6
27 IDAHO 8.8
27 MASSACHUSETTS 8.8
29 WEST VIRGINIA 9.0
29 WISCONSIN 9.0
31 WASHINGTON 9.1
32 ARIZONA 9.2
33 MISSOURI 9.3
33 NEW JERSEY 9.3
35 MISSISSIPPI 9.7
36 ALABAMA 10.2
37 GEORGIA 10.3
38 ILLINOIS 10.4
39 WASHINGTON DC 10.6
39 INDIANA 10.6
41 FLORIDA 10.7
41 TENNESSEE 10.7
43 KENTUCKY 11.0
43 NORTH CAROLINA 11.0
45 OHIO 11.2
46 SOUTH CAROLINA 11.8
47 CALIFORNIA 11.9
47 OREGON 11.9
49 NEVADA 12.5
50 RHODE ISLAND 12.7
51 MICHIGAN 15.0

p = preliminary.
NOTE: Rates shown are a percentage of the labor force. Data refer to place of residence. Estimates for the current month are subject to revision the following month.



Last Modified Date: August 21, 2009

edited to add link which shows the graph in a clearer way

[lunatica]

1. Are these figures just too boring? Does anyone care?

I'll give it one kick then let it sink

[etherealtruth]

2. Not too boring ..... too depressing

I live in Michigan and realize that 15% doesn't begin to cover the "real" numbers.

[zazen]

3. could we get the U-6 for each state?

I remember trying to dig this up for NC about six months back but couldn't find it. I'm pretty sure it's out there and I'm too ignorant to find it. I just wish our papers here in NC would report it. The Triangle has a very high percentage of contractors/consultants and so I suspect the real rate is much higher.

If you know where I can find this, I'd sure appreciate it.

[lunatica]

5. What does U-6 stand for?

[zazen]

10. the more accurate unemployment figure (those who've given up, self-employed, etc.)

The U-3, which these numbers represent, only reflect those folks who can file for unemployment insurance. The U-6 is based on survey data and is supposed to reflect the people who've given up looking, who're working p/t but want f/t, the self-employed who can't find any more work or can only find an occasional contract, the new graduates who weren't enmployed to begin with and can't find work.) Those rates are usually 50% higher than the U-3. I'd think they'd be around 20% in the Triangle.

The U-3 artificially reduces the rates.

[BadgerKid]

4. Out of curiosity

I color coded the list for whether states went blue or red for the 2008 election.

1 NORTH DAKOTA 4.2
2 NEBRASKA 4.9
2 SOUTH DAKOTA 4.9
4 UTAH 6.0
5 IOWA 6.5
5 OKLAHOMA 6.5
5 WYOMING 6.5
8 MONTANA 6.7
9 NEW HAMPSHIRE 6.8
9 VERMONT 6.8
11 VIRGINIA 6.9
12 HAWAII 7.0
12 NEW MEXICO 7.0
14 MARYLAND 7.3
15 ARKANSAS 7.4
15 KANSAS 7.4
15 LOUISIANA 7.4
18 COLORADO 7.8
18 CONNECTICUT 7.8
20 TEXAS 7.9
21 MINNESOTA 8.1
22 DELAWARE 8.2
23 ALASKA 8.3
24 MAINE 8.4
25 PENNSYLVANIA 8.5
26 NEW YORK 8.6
27 IDAHO 8.8
27 MASSACHUSETTS 8.8
29 WEST VIRGINIA 9.0
29 WISCONSIN 9.0
31 WASHINGTON 9.1
32 ARIZONA 9.2
33 MISSOURI 9.3
33 NEW JERSEY 9.3
35 MISSISSIPPI 9.7
36 ALABAMA 10.2
37 GEORGIA 10.3
38 ILLINOIS 10.4
39 WASHINGTON DC 10.6
39 INDIANA 10.6
41 FLORIDA 10.7
41 TENNESSEE 10.7
43 KENTUCKY 11.0
43 NORTH CAROLINA 11.0
45 OHIO 11.2
46 SOUTH CAROLINA 11.8
47 CALIFORNIA 11.9
47 OREGON 11.9
49 NEVADA 12.5
50 RHODE ISLAND 12.7
51 MICHIGAN 15.0

[lunatica]

8. Interesting, but I wonder if color coding for regional industry might also show

Some interesting contrasts. I wish I could find this on a map.

I did find this map and links to the rates in Cities in each state

http://www.bls.gov/eag/home.htm

[BadgerKid]

9. The counties tab was somewhat informative

If we could get everyone to do a "class exercise",maybe we could correlate the numbers to industry.

[blue_onyx]

6. I'm happy to see Michigan's unemployment go down

It may have only gone down by .2 but at least it went in the right direction for the first time in over a year.

[earthside]

7. The Two Indicators That Matter ...

... in my opinion, are the unemployment rate and government revenues.

Neither show a signs of "recovery."

The latest "green shoots" are the result of juicing auto sales and home resales with government rebates or credits financed by our now trillion dollar-plus annual federal deficits.

The stock markets are not very good indicators, in my opinion, because there are too many "investors" who buy and sell from hour to hour based on charts and graphs -- not with the notion of long term company profitability. In other words, stock market gamblers may not want to lose money, but their play is more of a bet of better times to come, not on tangible evidence of prosperity (the CNBC crowd calls that a "leading indicator.").

So, all those states with over seven percent unemployment are a pretty good sign that Bernanke is feeding us yet another pollyanna story to psych us into spending what little we have left in order to jump start the economy. In the end though, we're all still too deeply in debt.

Indeed, I think it entirely possible that another leg down is just over the horizon. The "rosy scenario" bunch here at DU will belittle the notion, but I still say that the massive debt the federal government and Federal Reserve are building will bury us.