June 2008 State Unemployment Notes

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Regional and State Unemployment Data today.

I’m going to concentrate on the seasonally adjusted unemployment rates, because summertime is when the not seasonally adjusted rates jump up and then down at rates that vary widely in different states.

Biggest trends:
- Continued deterioration in California (6.9%, up from 6.8% in May).
- Accelerating problems in Illinois and Ohio.
- In general, how skewed things are.

Skewed? The national unemployment rate is 5.5%, but only 11 states plus DC have unemployment rates above 6% (AK, 6.8%; CA, 6.9%; DC, 6.4%; IL, 6.8%; KY, 6.3%, MI, 8.5%; MS, 6.9%; NV, 6.4%, OH, 6.6%; RI, 7.5%; TN, 6.5%). Did I say that seven of those states have Democratic governors, and an eighth (California) might as well? Take away Cali, the Wolverine State, and the Land of Lincoln (discussed below), and the national unemployment rate would be 5.1%:

Specific comments:

• Ohio has gone from 5.6% to 6.6% in two months. This would not be Bob Taft’s or even George Bush’s fault. Please, Barack, pick Ted Strickland for Veep.
• Ohio’s decline is exceeded only by Barack Obama’s Illinois, which has shot up from 5.3% to 6.8% in two months, from slightly above the then-national average to 5th highest in the nation. Snarky bark: Not even Obama’s move of DNC operations to Chicago, or an Obama paid campaign staff of 2,000 (five times larger than George Bush’s in 2004) could stem the tide.
• Notable improvements: Missouri (down 0.3% to 5.7%); Louisiana (down 0.2% to 3.8%); Florida (down 0.1% to 5.5%, notable because it put a stop to what had been a 1.6% increase during the past year).