Unemployment

Unemployment rates in the United States vary from state to state. In December 2004 the highest unemployment rates were measured in the District of Columbia (8.8%), Alaska (7.6%), Michigan (7.5%), Oregon (7%), South Carolina (6.9%), Mississippi (6.7%), Ohio (6.1%), California (6%), and Illinois (6%). Preliminary December 2005 data revealed an increase to 9.9% in Mississippi and a slight increase in South Carolina to 7%, with declines in the other locations listed above. Between December 2004 and December 2005 the most dramatic improvements were registered in the District of Columbia, which saw its unemployment rate decline by 2.8 percentage points to 6%, and in Alabama, which reduced its unemployment rate by 1.8 percentage points to 3.5%. Significant increases in Mississippi (3.2 percentage points) and Louisiana (1.6 percentage points) were in part the result of widespread destruction of businesses caused by Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. (See Table 3.2.)