May 2009 - 13 States with over 10% unemployment

Unemployment Rates, seasonally adjusted

1. California 11.5%(p) in May 2009

2. Florida 10.2%(p) in May 2009

3. Illinois 10.1%(p) in May 2009

4. Indiana 10.6%(p) in May 2009

5. Kentucky 10.6%(p) in May 2009

6. Michigan 14.1%(p) in May 2009

7. Nevada 11.3%(p) in May 2009

8. North Carolina 11.1%(p) in May 2009

9. Ohio 10.8%(p) in May 2009

10. Oregon 12.4%(p) in May 2009

11. Rhode Island 12.1%(p) in May 2009

12. South Carolina 12.1%(p) in May 2009

13. Tennessee 10.7%(p) in May 2009

Plus two non-states:

14. D.C. 10.7%(p) in May 2009

15. Puerto Rico 14.4%(p) in May 2009

Source: www.bls.gov...

So, a comment on this. Take a look at the BLS source, click on the historical data. They'll list the labor force, employment and unemployment numbers. California for example, is listed as having 18,524,697 labor force, 16,386,653 employed, and 2,138,044 unemployed for a unemployment rate of 11.5%. Now Google 'population of (state)' and Google will show you census results from the prior year (population usually goes up). California population is 36,756,666, so with 16,386,653 employed, that leaves 55% unemployed. Now 55% can't be right, and 11.5% can't be right, so the real number is somewhere in between. Check it out for your state.

Just to track the trend, in January there was a post that listed two states over 10%
Two states now report unemployment rates over 10%


[edit on 7-7-2009 by Dbriefed]