On The Map: Unemployment Rate Highest in Michigan

Nationally, the unemployment rate was 8.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted) in the first quarter of 2009. Total unemployment rates ranged from 12.9 percent in Michigan and 11.8 percent in Oregon to 4.9 percent in Wyoming and Nebraska. South Carolina (14.7 percent), Michigan (14.4 percent), and Oregon (14.2 percent) had the highest nonmetro unemployment rates. Nebraska had the lowest nonmetro unemployment rate at 4.8 percent. In South Carolina, nonmetro employment declines were primarily in retail trade, manufacturing, and the public sector. In Michigan, layoffs in auto assembly and parts manufacturing have hit both nonmetro and metro areas. In metro areas, Michigan had the highest unemployment rate at 12.5 percent, followed by Rhode Island (11.3 percent), and Oregon (11.1 percent).