Unemployment Hits Record Highs In 8 States

Western U.S. Had 10.1% Jobless Rate In May, Labor Department Reports

(AP)  Last updated 11:58 a.m. ET.

The unemployment rate in the West jumped over 10 percent last month, the first time that regional threshold has been broken in about 25 years. On the state level, eight set record-highs, and only two - Nebraska and Vermont - did not report increases.

The Labor Department reported Friday that 48 states and the District of Columbia saw employment conditions deteriorate last month. The fallout from the longest recession since World War II was the worst in Michigan as automakers cut tens of thousands of jobs. Its unemployment rate rose to 14.1 percent.

The West region reported the highest jobless rate at 10.1 percent. The last time any region had a rate of at least 10 percent was September 1983, when the country was emerging from a severe recession.

The region is home to California, where the jobless rate jumped to a record 11.5 percent last month, Nevada, where it's a record 11.3 percent, and other states that have been slammed when the housing boom went bust - snatching jobs and wealth.

The other six states that set new highs on records dating to 1976 were: North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Florida and Georgia.

Nebraska's jobless rate dipped last month, while Vermont's was flat.

On the layoffs front, Arizona and Florida suffered the largely monthly percentage decreases, followed by Oklahoma and Arkansas, Kentucky and Michigan.

Joblessness is rising as companies lay off workers and turn to other cost-saving measures, such as trimming hours and freezing or slicing wages, to survive the recession. Housing, credit and financial problems - the worst since the 1930s - have sent the economy into a tailspin.

Factories, construction companies, retailers and financial companies are among the industries that have slashed the most jobs. U.S. manufacturers have suffered a double whammy: customers in the U.S. have pulled back along with foreign customers, who are dealing with their own economic troubles.

[W_A_H]

No CBS, that would be 40 states. Tell ya what Barack, I voted for you. Name me one campaign promise that has come to fruition. What have you done? Every unemployed friend I had is still unemployed with additional friends joining this rapidly growing group. The fact is you have done nothing but surround yourself with other children who are clueless. It aint getting any better for anyone, its getting worse.......after $1 TRILLION spent which equates to $3 TRILLION at the very least all said and done. And now we?re all waiting with baited breath to see a N. Korean intercontinental ballistic missile splash down into an Hawaiian sunset. Keep up the bad work.

Good Gawd, I never in my life ever thought I would ever say this but where?s Bush?

[dsnj1-2009]

@whitemale08-did you call (or email-the email addresses are widely publicized) all of your senators and representatives during the bailout vote and tell them you are against it? If not, DON'T want to hear it now. Seriously, really getting sick of people griping AFTER the fact-when you could have done something before.

[whitemale08]

Yes my friend,

I was the one who posted in large caps 'CALL CONGRESS AND SAY NO TO THE BAILOUTS'

I posted that graffitti over and over again right here on CBS News.

So don't accuse me of 'whinning and griping AFTER the fact...'

I did my part, what about you?

[dsnj1-2009]

So why do the markets make it sound like the economy is improving ( a 3 month rally)? When everyone on this post makes it really sound like doom and gloom. confused-what is it? Economy getting better, or no?

[ubrew12]

Stock market is a leading indicator, employment is a lagging indicator. Draw your own conclusions. For me, Obama prevented a serious depression by seriously expanding our debtload. We shall see in the long run whether that was a good idea, but in the short run it may help him get reelected.

[lizannrand]

Let me see if I understand, Mr. Bush is the one who put the national debt in the red (Clinton had it in the black), Mr. Bush was a part of in some way on the attack of America just to go to war (which costs US tax payers a LOT of money) that we really have no business fighting, leaves a whopper of a mess of everything for whomever the next president was to be (either Obama or McCain); The person who won the presidency by the American peoples vote, who has only been in office for about 5 months, who walked into the mess of the century, who is trying (whether he succeeds fully or not is yet to be seen), is getting trampled on? It could've been McCain in this position and you still wouldn't be happy. It isn't HIS fault things are the way they are. I'm not saying he's the greatest thing since sliced bread (really, what president has been everything every person wants), but give the guy a break. Give him a chance. I don't agree with all he is doing, but at least he is trying. All Bush did was make problems, messed everything up financially, started a war for no good reason, got rich, made a fool of himself and OUR country, is set for life and left the pieces to be picked up by someone else. If anyone person thinks they could do better in such a short time (5 months) than Obama, then perhaps you should put your money where your mouth is, YOU run for president in 4 years, YOU pick up the pieces and see what people criticize YOU for.

[whitemale08]

You can blame the bailouts of Goldman Sucks and JP Morgan.

Everytime a job is lost, it's because one of our taxpayer dollars could've went to bring back a manufacturing job or a job building nuclear power plants,

instead it went to bailout the very parasites, leeches and ticks like Goldman Sucks who on Wall Street/City of London promoted this 'globalization' krap and 'free trade' that has de-industrialized our nation and turned into a population of serfs making sandwiches @Subway.

[tautomer]

by June 19, 2009 10:23 AM PDT It will take two to three years to undo the serious damage the republicans did to the country, the democrats should take some blame for not watching the republicans. Is that simple. Is unfair to blame a five month old administration.YOU are an idiot if you do.....
______________________________________________________________________________

Uh June, the Dems have been in power now for 2-1/2 years or did you miss that? Remember Pelosi with her "New Sheriff in Town?" Funny all we've seen on the Dems watch is severe deterioration.

[tautomer]

by mcintoshlou June 19, 2009 9:16 AM PDT
and another big thank you to nixon/reagan and the bush/cheney crime family, thanks for for trickle down voodoo economics,
___________________________________________________________________

Those folks ran the economy until Jan 2007 when the Dems took over. Things were much better then. 3% growth,4.2% unemployment, strong housing market.

Then Pelosi said "There's a New Sheriff in Town"......LMAO..and shazzam...-6% growth, 10% unemployment, 30% off the housing market and $2.5 Trillion further in the hole. Dems aren't doing so well. Most Americans preferred their circumstances in jan 2007, when Republicans handed over control of the economy to the Dems, to their circumstances today after nearly 2-1/2 years of Democrat rule.

[u-r-right]

Man do I hope we have better candidates to choose from in the next presidential election. We've had a house full of idiots for too long now.

[specialty8]

mcintosh,
How is trickle up working so far? How many jobs have the street bums and Oprah loving couch dwellers made so far? How much of spreading the wealth have you received? Little hint, don't bother to check your mailbox for a check, it's not gonna happen.

[specialty8]

Don't worry, those 3 million jobs Obungler promised are on their way.Problem is he did not say where those jobs would be. Mexico or China? This guy is for sure a one termer just like Jimmy Carter.

[mcintoshlou]

and another big thank you to

nixon/reagan and the bush/cheney crime family, thanks for

for trickle down voodoo economics,

republi'con'S are anti-american fools

[u-r-right]

Well we're certainly not out of it yet now are we? And what is Obama doing about it? He's taking his wife out to dinner dates and allowing gays to get benefits together as long as they work for the government. Real important.

[sjc_1]

Until we learn to design and manage an economy, we will have recessions, fewer customers and layoffs. There is NO counterbalance to keep things on an even keel.

[lost_america]

There is enough blame to spread between the two parties. Each wants to feed off the poor.

One does it because its profitable
the other because the poor form its powerbase

Bush I, Clinton, Bush II, and now Obama are all globalists. Each along with most of the congress they served with have sttod back while the Amercian worker and the living wage job became an endangered species.

The factory jobs are long gone, soon all the tech jobs will be gone too.

The next group on the radar will be health care workers. Once they have control of it your jobs and wages will be determined by the going rate in Bangalore as well.

My job went to India in Dec 08. Since then I've been attempting to train my replacements. To put it plainly, they are awful, the customers hate it and the service stinks. There was a time when the guy with the better mouse trap would win the day. Now, its the guy with the cheapest and nevermind if it works. Let the rats run wild as long as the stock price stays up.

Our leaders rebublican,demacrats, and corporate have sold us into poverty and wage slavery. Its ok with them as long as they line their own pockets and feed their own egos.

[mjvwsr]

If we don't pass the stimulus package right away unemployment could go as high as 8 percent. LOL

[Benton09]

Unemployment is higher than the government figures show. Their figures are based on unemployment claim figures. There are a lot of unemployed that aren't on unemployment. 12 to 15% would be more accurate and 25 to 30% way under-employed. Corporate Greed, number 1 culprit!

[Benton09]

Unemployment is higher than the government figures show. Their figures are based on unemployment claim figures. There are a lot of unemployed that aren't on unemployment. 12 to 15% would be more accurate and 25 to 30% way under-employed. Corporate Greed, number 1 culprit!

[specialty8]

Another "historical" moment for Obama. Highest unemployment in history.When this is looked back on in 30 or 40 years Obamas name will come up.

[Solarrays247]

There will not be any turn around in the ecomoy until the Republicans take back control of Congress and STOP all this debt spending for Big Government!
by hclinton2012 June 19, 2009 10:31 AM PDT


Right on!!!!!!
Get the Republicans back in control and START all the debt spending for yet another War!!

*sniff* *sniff* Sure do miss all that chest pounding, and stuff!!

:=(

[specialty8]

Walt,
I agree, everyday it seems Obama has something else going on that is not really important at this time or for that matter at anytime. Most of it is just distractions from the real problems they have no idea how to fix.