Jobless Rates Still Near Record Highs

By Robert Davis
Oct 24 2010

A government agency charged with tracking the US jobless rates released a new report yesterday that shows the rate is still near record highs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that while the numbers remained even in many cases, some states are still seeing high numbers, pointing to a slower than expected recovery.

Of the 50 states in the union, 23 of them reported decreases in unemployment figures. This is considered a significant move towards full recovery. However, states such as Michigan and Nevada have not moved on the list, remaining in their respective positions for the past reporting year.

Nevada continues to have the highest unemployment rate of any state, 14.4% overall. Michigan is a close second with 13%. For Nevada that decline of the gaming industry, as consumers spent far less on recreational gambling, as well as the near shut down of the construction industry, has aided in their high numbers.

Michigan has suffered through the automobile industry. With manufacturing jobs nearly non-existent in the state, Michigan continues to yield high jobless numbers. Automakers announced new cuts in the manufacturing divisions for the coming year.

Experts believe that unemployment could fall below 9% in the coming year as a national average. That could further decrease below 8% total for 2012. However, economists have said that there is no ironclad solution to bring the numbers down to acceptable averages.

Government officials expect that the housing market will soon recover which is expected to decrease unemployment several percentage points.