California, Nevada Match All-Time Unemployment Highs

State unemployment figures are out and Michigan is still leading the country with 15.2 percent unemployment. That's still a full percentage point below its all-time high from 1982 of 16.9 percent, but the four states filling out the top five -- Rhode Island (12.4), Oregon (12.2), South Carolina (12.1), and Nevada (12) -- all match their their all-time highs.

And how about the national axis of gloom that is MichiCaliFliArivada (that is, MI, CA, FL, AZ and NV)? They claim three of the top six worst unemployment rates.
California clocks in at number six with an 11.6 percent unemployment rate, joining Michigan and Nevada in the top six. All this information and more you can grab from the super-helpful table provided by the Real Time Economics blog at the Wall Street Journal. Here's a look at the top of the graph, organized by highest unemployment rate:

One other interesting fact to note about this awesome chart that lets you compare historical highs and lows between states. Alaska's all-time lowest unemployment rate according to the chart is 5.9 percent. South Dakota's all-time high? 5.9 percent, exactly.

To learn more about the MichiCaliFliArivada crisis, go here.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/07/california-nevada-match-all-time-unemployment-highs/21543/