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Just four states recorded a drop in the unemployment rate for December, indicating that though the labor market continues to inch toward stabilization widespread job growth still hasn’t arrived.
Earlier this month, the Labor Department reported that the unemployment for the nation as a whole held steady at 10% in December from a month earlier. Just 16 states and Washington D.C. have higher jobless rates than the national average.
Most of the country continues to see job losses, but employment increased in 11 states and Washington D.C.
| State | Dec. 2009 Rate | Nov. 2009 Rate | Nov. to Dec. change | 2008 to 2009 change |
| U.S. National Rate | 10% | 10% | 0 | 2.6 |
| Alabama | 11% | 10.5% | 0.5 | 4.5 |
| Alaska | 8.8% | 8.4% | 0.4 | 2 |
| Arizona | 9.1% | 8.9% | 0.2 | 2.5 |
| Arkansas | 7.7% | 7.4% | 0.3 | 2 |
| California | 12.4% | 12.4% | 0 | 3.7 |
| Colorado | 7.5% | 6.9% | 0.6 | 1.7 |
| Connecticut | 8.9% | 8.2% | 0.7 | 2.3 |
| Delaware | 9% | 8.6% | 0.4 | 3.3 |
| District of Columbia | 12.1% | 11.8% | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Florida | 11.8% | 11.5% | 0.3 | 4.2 |
| Georgia | 10.3% | 10.1% | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| Hawaii | 6.9% | 6.8% | 0.1 | 1.8 |
| Idaho | 9.1% | 9.1% | 0 | 3 |
| Illinois | 11.1% | 10.9% | 0.2 | 3.9 |
| Indiana | 9.9% | 9.6% | 0.3 | 2.1 |
| Iowa | 6.6% | 6.7% | -0.1 | 2.2 |
| Kansas | 6.6% | 6.4% | 0.2 | 1.6 |
| Kentucky | 10.7% | 10.6% | 0.1 | 3.1 |
| Louisiana | 7.5% | 6.7% | 0.8 | 2 |
| Maine | 8.3% | 8% | 0.3 | 1.8 |
| Maryland | 7.5% | 7.3% | 0.2 | 2.1 |
| Massachusetts | 9.4% | 8.7% | 0.7 | 3 |
| Michigan | 14.6% | 14.7% | -0.1 | 4.4 |
| Minnesota | 7.4% | 7.4% | 0 | 0.8 |
| Mississippi | 10.6% | 9.8% | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| Missouri | 9.6% | 9.4% | 0.2 | 2.5 |
| Montana | 6.7% | 6.4% | 0.3 | 1.7 |
| Nebraska | 4.7% | 4.6% | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Nevada | 13% | 12.3% | 0.7 | 4.6 |
| New Hampshire | 7% | 6.7% | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| New Jersey | 10.1% | 9.7% | 0.4 | 3.3 |
| New Mexico | 8.3% | 7.8% | 0.5 | 3.6 |
| New York | 9% | 8.6% | 0.4 | 2.4 |
| North Carolina | 11.2% | 10.7% | 0.5 | 3.1 |
| North Dakota | 4.4% | 4.1% | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| Ohio | 10.9% | 10.6% | 0.3 | 3.5 |
| Oklahoma | 6.6% | 7.1% | -0.5 | 2 |
| Oregon | 11% | 10.7% | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Pennsylvania | 8.9% | 8.5% | 0.4 | 2.5 |
| Rhode Island | 12.9% | 12.7% | 0.2 | 3.5 |
| South Carolina | 12.6% | 12.3% | 0.3 | 3.8 |
| South Dakota | 4.7% | 4.9% | -0.2 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 10.9% | 10.2% | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| Texas | 8.3% | 8% | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Utah | 6.7% | 6.3% | 0.4 | 2.6 |
| Vermont | 6.9% | 6.4% | 0.5 | 1 |
| Virginia | 6.9% | 6.6% | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| Washington | 9.5% | 9% | 0.5 | 3 |
| West Virginia | 9.1% | 8.4% | 0.7 | 4.6 |
| Wisconsin | 8.7% | 8.2% | 0.5 | 2.8 |
| Wyoming | 7.5% | 7.2% | 0.3 | 4.3 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics