Unemployment rate rises in 29 states in October, says DOL

/0 Comments/in /by

The unemployment rate rose in 29 states in October Month-by-month unemployment rates increased in 29 states and Washington D.C. in October as more workers lost their jobs and have been forced to consolidate debt, the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday.

Alaska and Wyoming saw their unemployment rates see the largest increases, with growth of 0.6 percentage points to 8.9 and 7.4 percent respectively. Arkansas and Washington D.C. followed with 0.5 percentage point increases over September’s figures to 7.6 and 11.9 percent respectively.

Additionally, 14 states reported unemployment rates of more than 10 percent, while five states – California (12.5 percent), South Carolina (12.1), Florida (11.2), Delaware (8.7), and Washington D.C. – set record highs with their October rates.

Compared from figures from October 2008, Michigan recorded the largest increase in its unemployment rate form September figures, growing 6 percentage points to hit 15.1 percent.

Michigan also had the highest statewide unemployment rate across the country, followed by Nevada at 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.9 percent.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October, hitting its highest point since March 1983.