Top 5 States with Highest Unemployment

As of July 2011, Nevada’s unemployment rate remains the highest in the nation at a crippling 12.9 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported. California’s unemployment was the second highest, hovering at 12.0 percent, with Michigan and South Carolina still struggling with 10.9 percent unemployment. Rhode Island had the fifth highest unemployment at 10.8 percent. In total, nine states still carry the weight of unemployment rates over 10 percent.

The graph below looks at the states with the five highest and lowest unemployment rates throughout the nation:

North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 3.3 percent – a far cry from the national average of 9.1 percent. Nebraska enjoys the second lowest unemployment rate of 4.1 percent, with South Dakota at 4.7 percent. Still in the top five lowest unemployment rates, New Hampshire came in at 5.2 percent with Oklahoma close by at 5.5 percent unemployment.

While the national unemployment rate took a slight tip last month, July experienced very little significant change. Over the year however, employment numbers looked more promising. “The national unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in July, essentially unchanged from the prior month but down from 9.5 percent a year earlier,” the B.L.S. confirmed. “In July, total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 117,000 over the month and by 1,258,000 over the year.”