US: Unemployment hits double digits in seven states

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/mar2009/jobl-m28.shtml

By Barry Grey
28 March 2009

Three more states in the US recorded jobless rates of more than 10 percent in February, bringing the total thus far to seven, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.

Nevada (10.1 percent), North Carolina (10.7 percent) and Oregon (10.8 percent) last month joined the four other states that had previously soared above 10 percent. Michigan, at 12 percent, remained the state with the highest unemployment rate, followed by South Carolina at 11 percent and Oregon at 10.8 percent. California (10.5 percent) and Rhode Island (10.5 percent) are the other states with double-digit unemployment.

The new data on state jobless levels followed the Labor Department's report on initial jobless claims for the past week, released Thursday, which showed a higher-than-expected increase to a seasonally adjusted figure of 652,000, up from the previous week's figure of 644,000. The total number of people claiming benefits for more than a week jumped 122,000 to 5.56 million, exceeding analysts' projections of 5.48 million and marking the highest level since records began in 1967. The level of continuing jobless claims set a record for the ninth consecutive week.

These statistics, along with a rash of new corporate layoff announcements across the economic spectrum, reflect the continuing plunge of the economy toward full-scale depression, even as Wall Street celebrates the biggest three-week gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1982 and the Obama administration pumps trillions of additional dollars into the banks and hails supposed signs of economic improvement.

Economists expect that the official unemployment figure for March, to be released next week, will show that the US economy lost more than 600,000 jobs for a fourth straight month. The jobless rate is expected to jump from 8.1 percent to a 25-year high of 8.5 percent, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost 4.4 million jobs, already more than the 3.5 million jobs President Barack Obama is pledging to save or create with his $787 billion stimulus program. Economists at Merrill Lynch in New York and Wachovia in Charlotte, North Carolina, are among those projecting joblessness nationwide will surpass 10 percent.

FULL story at link.