BLS: No State had 9% Unemployment Rate in March, First time since September 2008

[ProSense]

BLS: No State had 9% Unemployment Rate in March, First time since September 2008

by Bill McBride

From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in March. Twenty-one states had unemployment rate decreases, 17 states and the District of Columbia had increases, and 12 states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
...
Rhode Island had the highest unemployment rate among the states in March, 8.7 percent. The next highest rates were in Nevada and Illinois, 8.5 percent and 8.4 percent, respectively. North Dakota again had the lowest jobless rate, 2.6 percent.

This graph shows the current unemployment rate for each state (red), and the max during the recession (blue). All states are well below the maximum unemployment rate for the recession.



The second graph shows the number of states with unemployment rates above certain levels since January 2006. At the worst of the employment recession, there were 10 states with an unemployment rate above 11% (red).

Currently no state has an unemployment rate at or above 9% (purple), four states are at or above 8% (light blue), and 13 states are at or above 7% (blue).



http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/04/bls-no-state-had-9-unemployment-rate-in.html

The second graph showing the progression is great.

[ProSense]

1. Kick! n/t

[Wounded Bear]

2. It's anemic, but it is a bit of a recovery...

Now, if we can get the min wage upped, maybe incomes will follow.