The 11 Most Unemployed States In America

Mamta Badkar Sep. 18, 2011, 6:34 AM

U.S. employers added no new jobs in August. Since then President Obama unveiled his $447 billion jobs plan and the Republicans have pushed for their own.


While Washington continues to bicker, the latest report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on regional and state unemployment shows that 26 states reported a month-over-month increase in unemployment.

We've highlighted the 11 states with the worst unemployment rates and compared it with figures from the previous month, and a year ago.

Note: August unemployment rate and numbers are preliminary. All data is seasonally adjusted.

#11 Alabama (tie)

Unemployment rate: 9.9%
Number of people: 213,400

Alabama's unemployment rate is down from 10% in July, but up from 9.1% a year ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

#10 Illinois (tie)

Unemployment rate: 9.9%
Number of people: 653,000

The unemployment rate in Illinois is up from 9.5% in July, but a little lower that 10% a year ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#9 Georgia

Unemployment rate: 10.2%
Number of people: 482,300

The unemployment rate held steady from a year ago, but is up from 10.1% in July.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#8 Mississippi

Unemployment rate: 10.3%
Number of people: 139,100

Mississippi's unemployment rate is up from 10.1% a year ago, but lower than 10.4% in July.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#7 North Carolina

Unemployment rate: 10.4%
Number of people: 468,100

North Carolina's unemployment rate is on the rise, up from 10.1% in July and 10.1% a year ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#6 Rhode Island

Unemployment rate: 10.6%
Number of people: 59,600

The unemployment problem in Rhode Island seems to be improving. It is down from 11.5% a year ago, and marginally lower than July's 10.8% figure.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#5 Florida

Unemployment rate: 10.7%
Number of people: 987,000

Florida's unemployment rate held steady from July and is down from 11.6% a year ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics



#4 South Carolina

Unemployment rate: 11.1%
Number of people: 239,200

South Carolina is struggling with astubbornly high unemployment. It's up from 10.9% in July and 11% a year ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#3 Michigan

Unemployment rate: 11.2%
Number of people: 525,500

Michigan's unemployment rate is down from 12.2% a year ago, but up from 10.9% in July.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#2 California

Unemployment rate: 12.1%
Number of people: 2.2 million

California's unemployment rate is down from 12.4% a year ago, but up from 12% in July.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics


#1 Nevada

Unemployment rate: 13.4%
Number of people: 176,200

Nevada's unemployment rate ticked up from 12.9% in July, but is down from 14.9% a year ago.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics