26 States Recorded Unemployment Rate Increases in August

The national unemployment rate remains stuck at 9.1%. It has maintained a very tight range so far in 2011, hitting a yearly low of 8.8% in March and a yearly high of 9.2% in June.
Illinois and Pennsylvania reported the largest unemployment rate increases in August (+0.4%). North Carolina (+0.3%), Maryland (+0.2%), North Dakota (+0.2%) and Virginia (+0.2%) all posted significant increases as well.
Let's take a look at the top and bottom five state unemployment rates in August (including Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia):
Puerto Rico with a rate of 16.0%
Nevada with a rate of 13.4%
California with a rate of 12.1%
Michigan with a rate of 11.2%
District of Columbia with a rate of 11.1%
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Now, the five states with the lowest unemployment rates as of August 2011:
North Dakota with a rate of 3.5%
Nebraska with a rate of 4.2%
South Dakota with a rate of 4.7%
New Hampshire with a rate of 5.3%
Oklahoma with a rate of 5.6%
Source: Historical State Unemployment Numbers
Filed under: General Knowledge