Drastic Difference in Unemployment from State to State

The gap between the rich and the poor remains canyon-like.  Increasingly, people seem to simply be interested in whether or not people are employed or unemployed.  Within a circle of friends or a community potluck, employment is the gauge for distinguishing the haves and have-nots.

Employment might be considered nationwide in this light.  Whose citizens are employed?  Whose children are growing up with unemployed parents?

The gulf between state’s unemployment statistics is startling.  During the month of February, records suggest that some states have far fewer worries about joblessness than other states.  North Dakota reported the lowest jobless rate, 3.7 percent.  Nevada continued to register the highest unemployment rate among the states at 13.6 percent.

Are these states sharing similar economic problems?  When national reforms are hatched, which state’s needs are being most considered?  A state where three or thirteen out of every hundred citizens in unemployed?

In total, 22 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the U.S. figure of 8.9 percent, 10 states recorded measurably higher rates, and 18 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Sixteen states reported statistically significant over-the-year jobless rate decreases in February, the largest of which were in Michigan (?3.1 percentage points) and Illinois (?2.2 points). The remaining 34 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier.