Recovery Summer 3: July Unemployment Up In 44 States

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Investors Business Daily:

In another sign of the ongoing jobs recession, fully 44 states saw their unemployment rates climb in July, according to state-level data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As a result, more than three years after the economic recovery officially started under President Obama, 10 states still have jobless rates of 9% or higher.

 

Nevada's jobless rate, for example, climbed to 12%, New Jersey's rose to 9.8% and North Carolina's edged up to 9.6%.

 

The states with the highest rates — Nevada, Rhode Island (10.8%), California (10.7%), New Jersey and North Carolina all voted for Obama in 2008.

 

 

The four states with the lowest jobless rates are solidly GOP: North Dakota (3%), Nebraska (4%), South Dakota (4%) and Oklahoma (5%). Heavily Democratic Vermont also had 5%.

 

Big cities continue to suffer exceedingly high unemployment, with rates of 11.2% in the Los Angeles area, 10% in New York City and 9.5% in Miami.

 

 

Even in the Detroit metro area, which Obama repeatedly touts as a success story after the bailouts of GM (GM) and Chrysler, the jobless rate has climbed in each of the past three months and is now 10.2%. Overall, Michigan's jobless rate hit 9% in July.

 

Obama said in a January speech in Michigan that "We placed our bets on the American auto industry, and today, the American auto industry is back. Jobs are coming back."

The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 8.3% in July, according to BLS data released Aug. 3.