Misery loves company

Hooray - California does not have the highest unemployment rate in the nation. That dubious honor goes to Michigan, which was at 10.6 percent in December. After that it's Rhode Island, at 10 percent, and then South Carolina (9.5 percent), California (9.3 percent), Nevada (9.1 percent), and Oregon (9 percent). Wyoming posted the lowest rate (3.4 percent), followed by North Dakota (3.5 percent). The U.S. unemployment rate in December was 7.2 percent. All these nifty numbers come courtesy of a Labor Department report.

Table A. States with unemployment rates significantly differ-
ent from that of the U.S., December 2008, seasonally adjusted

United States (1) ....7.2%

Arkansas ....6.2%
California ....9.3%
Colorado .....6.1%
Delaware ....6.2%
District of Columbia ....8.8%
Florida .....8.1%
Georgia .....8.1%
Hawaii .....5.5%
Indiana ....8.2%
Iowa ......4.6%
Kansas .....5.2%
Louisiana .....5.9%
Maryland .....5.8%
Michigan .....10.6%
Montana .....5.4%
Nebraska .....4.0%
Nevada ......9.1%
New Hampshire ....4.6%
New Mexico .....4.9%
North Carolina .....8.7%
North Dakota .....3.5%
Oklahoma .....4.9%
Oregon .....9.0%
Rhode Island .....10.0%
South Carolina ....9.5%
South Dakota .....3.9%
Texas .....6.0%
Utah ......4.3%
Vermont ......6.4%
Virginia .....5.4%
West Virginia .....4.9%
Wisconsin ....6.2%
Wyoming .....3.4%
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1 Data are not preliminary.