Unemployment hit a record 14.4 percent in Nevada in August, up from 14.3 percent in July, giving it the highest unemployment rate in the country for the fourth straight month. Michigan, the previous leader, remained No. 2. (Nevada also leads the nation in home foreclosures.)
"The 2010 Census began to wind down, bringing an end to employment for about 1,900 workers, while local government shed about 1,000 jobs, brought on by continued budget cuts,” said Bill Anderson, chief economist for the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation in a statement.
Michigan's rate held steady at 13.1 percent from the month before.
California was third with a 12.4-percent jobless rate, followed by Rhode Island (11.8 percent), Florida (11.7 percent) and South Carolina (11.0 percent). (See the top 10 in our slideshow.) Once again, North Dakota had the lowest rate in the country at 3.7 percent.
Let's keep in mind that California, Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania are all states with double digit unemployment rates, and are states where Republicans are expected to make gains. But that doesn't explain everything when people say "it's the economy, stupid." Alabama, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Minnesota are all states that have seen significant state unemployment rate improvement in the last 12 months, and yet Republicans are doing well in these states too.
Wisconsin's unemployment rate has dropped from 8.8% to 7.9% in the last year, and yet Russ Feingold is in real trouble in his Senate re-election campaign. Texas has gained roughly 130,000 jobs since Obama took office, and yet the state remains blood red. It's not just jobs and the economy that are causing problems for the Democrats.
Six weeks ahead of the elections is a bit too late for searching for answers, but a lot of it has to do with the enthusiasm gap and the media pounding Obama has taken for the last 2 years.
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