Geographically, the decline in unemployment has been widespread, but it still remains very high in most of the country. In March, the unemployment rate fell in 34 states and rose in seven. Relative to a year ago, the unemployment rate is down in 44 states and up in just five. The overall unemployment rate was 8.8% in March, down from 8.9% in February and 9.7% a year ago.
The graph below (from this source) shows the unemployment rate in each state. The red part of the bar shows the current unemployment rate, the blue the highest rate in this cycle. The only two states where unemployment is at its high for the cycle are Idaho and Louisiana.
Nine states still have double-digit unemployment, and only five are close to what could reasonably be called full employment with unemployment rates below 6%. Unfortunately, lots of people live in the high-unemployment states like California (12.0%) and Florida (11.1%), and not that many live in the low-unemployment states like North Dakota (3.5%) and Nebraska (4.2%).
The drop in unemployment has been particularly steep in those states with a high exposure to the Auto industry. Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) are selling more cars than a year ago, although still far from the levels they were selling before the Great Recession hit. That has raised employment not only at those firms, but at the parts makers like TRW Automotive (TRW) and Lear (LEA).
States closely tied to farming generally have low unemployment rates as the effects of high crop prices ripple through those economies. States that had the biggest real estate bubbles, are generally the ones with the highest unemployment rates.
LEAR (LEA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Leave a Reply