After months of modest improvement, most states showed an increase in unemployment rates in August, with Nevada hitting another record high, according to government data Tuesday.
Twenty-seven states reported unemployment rate increases in August, while 13 states registered decreases; ten states and the District of Columbia showed no change, according to the US Labor Department.
The July report released a month ago was slightly better, with 18 states and the District of Columbia showing decreases in their jobless rate, 14 states with increases, and 18 states with no change. That capped a trend that began in May.
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.
With some 15 million Americans unemployed, and the national jobless rate at 9.6 percent, the economy—especially job creation—has been a trouble spot for the Obama administration.
In a televised CNBC Town Hall on Monday, President Obama said that the stimulus measures his administration has taken have "worked" to create jobs, but said they're considering additional incentives to spur hiring. Last week, the Senate passed a small business stimulus plan that would create a $30 billion lending fund to help with spending and hiring.
"It’s slow and steady as opposed to the quick fix I think people want to see," Obama said.