Nevada’s Unemployment Rate Highest in the U.S.

Nevada continues to carry the burden of the highest unemployment rate  in the United States, The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported. Coming in at a whopping 13.4 percent in August, the state’s unemployment jumped from 12.9 percent in July, indicating that the road to recovery is still far off.

Nevada wasn’t the only state to see higher unemployment rates compared to the month before. Despite a consistent 9.1 percent national unemployment rate, slight job fluctuations were still seen across the country. In addition, state employment numbers were compromised after the B.L.S. revised their initially optimistic June and July job gains –  ultimately netting the number of U.S. jobs downward by staggering 57,000 positions.

The graph below indicates the states with the highest and lowest unemployment rates across the country for August:

 Nevada led the nation with 13.4 percent unemployment, and California trailed with a close second at 12.1 percent. Michigan came in third at 11.2 percent, and both the District of Columbia and South Carolina experienced unemployment rates at 11.1 percent.

North Dakota experienced a comparatively minor unemployment rate of only 3.5 percent. Nebraska had the second lowest rate at 4.2 percent. South Dakota had 4.7 percent unemployment, with New Hampshire and Oklahoma witnessing rates at 5.3 and 5.6 percent respectively.

“From August 2010 to August 2011, New Mexico registered the largest jobless rate decrease (-1.9 percentage points),” The B.L.S. noted. “Four additional states reported smaller but also statistically significant decreases over the year: Oklahoma (-1.4 percentage points), Indiana (-1.3 points), Oregon (-1.1 points), and Florida (-0.9 point). The District of Columbia posted the only significant rate increase from a year earlier (+1.3 percentage points).”