Fifteen states and the District of Columbia now have unemployment rates above 10 percent, according to federal data released Friday. In Michigan, hard-hit by the auto industry downturn, the unemployment reate hit 15.2 percent, the first time any state has hit that mark since 1984. In 1984, it was West Virginia.
The other 14 states where unemployment topped 10 percent in June were: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. As we noted, the District of Columbia has also hit that mark.
In May, the unemployment rate topped 10 percent in 13 states and the District of Columbia. New to the list in June: Alabama and Georgia.
The lucky states with the lowest unemployment rates in June were North Dakota (4.2 percent), Nebraska (5 percent) and South Dakota (5.1 percent).
Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve projected that the national unemployment rate will supass 10 percent by the end of the year. Currently unemployment is at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent. A small comfort for Michigan: while Michigan's rate was the highest in the country in June, the record-high for the state was 16.9 percent in November 1982.
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