July State Unemployment Breakdown - Nevada Continues To Lead

The July regional and state unemployment numbers were released by the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) earlier today.

The BLS reported that:

-14 states registered increases in their unemployment rates in July
-14 states registered decreases in their unemployment rates in July
-18 states registered zero change in their unemployment rates in July

Nevada's woes continued in July, as their state unemployment rate ticked higher to 14.3% from 14.2% the month before. Nevada has posted an increase in their unemployment rate in each of the first seven months of 2010 - from January 2010 to July 2010, Nevada has seen its unemployment rate increase from 13.0% to 14.3%. This increase has allowed Nevada to snatch from Michigan the dubious distinction of being the state with the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

The states with the highest unemployment rates in July were:

Nevada - 14.3%
Michigan - 13.1%
California - 12.3%
Rhode Island - 11.9%

Michigan has seen its unemployment rate drop from 14.3% (January 2010) to 13.1% (July 2010), while California and Rhode Island have both posted decreases from the start of the year as well.

The states that posted the lowest unemployment rates in July were:

North Dakota - 3.6%
South Dakota - 4.4%
Nebraska - 4.7%
New Hampshire - 5.8%
Vermont - 6.0%

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According to the BLS, of the nine geographic divisions in the United States, the Pacific posted the highest jobless rate (11.5%) in July. The West North Central, on the other hand, posted the lowest jobless rate at 7.0%.

Source: Davemanuel.com - Historic State Unemployment Rates

Source: BLS.gov - Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary for July 2010

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