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4 States Hit Double-Digit Jobless Rates In January

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The Associated Press

Published: March 12, 2009

WASHINGTON - Four states - California, South Carolina, Michigan and Rhode Island - registered unemployment rates above 10 percent in January, and the national rate is expected to hit double digits by the end of the year.

The U.S. Department of Labor's report on states' unemployment, released Wednesday, showed the increasing damage inflicted on workers and companies from the recession. Some economists now predict the U.S. unemployment rate will hit 10 percent by the year's end and peak at 11 percent or higher by the middle of 2010.

In December, only Michigan had a double-digit jobless rate. One month later, the four states did, and that doesn't count Puerto Rico, which saw its unemployment rate actually dip to 13 percent in January from 13.5 percent in December.

California's unemployment rate jumped to 10.1 percent in January from 8.7 percent in December, as jobs have disappeared in the construction, finance and retail industries.

Michigan's jobless rate jumped to 11.6 percent in January, the highest in the country. The second-highest was South Carolina at 10.4 percent. Rhode Island was next at 10.3 percent, and California rounded out the top four.

Florida reported last week that its rate edged closer to double digits when it settled at 9.7 percent in February. The local area's unemployment rose to 8.6 percent.

Tribune staff contributed to this report.

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