National Unemployment Rate Drops to 10%

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT — NOVEMBER 2009

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in November. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate decreases, 8 states registered rate increases, and 6 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. The national unemployment rate edged down in November to 10.0 percent, 0.2 percentage point lower than October, but 3.2 points higher than November 2008.

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Michigan again recorded the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.7 percent in November. The states with the next highest rates were Rhode Island, 12.7 percent, and California, Nevada, and South Carolina, 12.3 percent each. North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate, 4.1 percent in November, followed by Nebraska, 4.5 percent, and South Dakota, 5.0 percent. The rate in South Carolina set a new series high, as did the rate in Florida (11.5 percent). In total, 31 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 10.0 percent, 9 states and the District of Columbia had measurably higher rates, and 10 states had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Seven states reported statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate decreases in November. Kentucky and Connecticut experienced the largest of these (-0.7 and -0.6 percentage point, respectively). One state, Florida, posted a significant increase from October (+0.2 percentage point). The remaining 42 states and the District of Columbia registered jobless rates that were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.