May 27, 2009
(The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
States with the highest unemployment rates, April 2009
In April, Michigan reported the highest jobless rate, 12.9 percent.
![States with the highest unemployment rates and U.S. unemployment rate, April 2009](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20120924235423im_/http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/images/2009/may/wk4/art02.gif)
[Chart data—TXT]
The states with the next highest rates were Oregon, 12.0 percent; South Carolina, 11.5 percent; Rhode Island, 11.1 percent; California, 11.0 percent; North Carolina, 10.8 percent; Nevada, 10.6 percent; and Ohio, 10.2 percent.
The Rhode Island and South Carolina rates were the highest on record for those states. Georgia, at 9.3 percent, also posted a series high. (All state series begin in 1976.)
The national unemployment rate was 8.9 percent in April 2009.
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are seasonally adjusted. More State unemployment statistics are available in "Regional and State Employment and Unemployment: April 2009" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 09-0548.
Of interest
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