BLS released the latest unemployment numbers on Friday right before Bush announced that he would push through an auto bailout. They are very bad.

In November, Michigan and Rhode Island reported the highest jobless rates, 9.6 and 9.3 percent, respectively. Four additional states recorded rates of 8.0 percent or more: California and South Carolina, 8.4 percent each, Oregon, 8.1 percent, and Nevada, 8.0 percent. The District of Columbia also had a rate of 8.0 percent. Wyoming posted the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2 percent, followed closely by North Dakota and South Dakota, at 3.3 and 3.4 percent, respectively. Over all, 9 states and the District of Columbia registered significantly higher jobless rates than the U.S. figure of 6.7 percent, 25 states reported measurably lower rates, and 16 states had rates little different from that of the nation. (See tables A and 3.)

Oregon recorded the largest over-the-month unemployment rate
increase in November (+0.9 percentage point). Seventeen additional states and the District of Columbia also experienced statistically significant rate increases. The remaining 32 states registered November unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes. (See table B.)

Table B. States with statistically significant unemployment rate changes
from October 2008 to November 2008, seasonally adjusted
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rate |
|-----------------------| Over-the-month
State | October | November | rate change(p)
| 2008 | 2008(p) |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama ........................| 5.5 | 6.1 | 0.6
District of Columbia ...........| 7.3 | 8.0 | .7
Florida ........................| 7.0 | 7.3 | .3
Georgia ........................| 6.9 | 7.5 | .6
Hawaii .........................| 4.6 | 4.9 | .3
Idaho ..........................| 5.3 | 5.7 | .4
Indiana ........................| 6.4 | 7.1 | .7
Maine ..........................| 5.7 | 6.3 | .6
Maryland .......................| 4.9 | 5.3 | .4
Massachusetts ..................| 5.5 | 5.9 | .4
| | |
Minnesota ......................| 5.9 | 6.4 | .5
Nevada .........................| 7.7 | 8.0 | .3
New York .......................| 5.7 | 6.1 | .4
North Carolina .................| 7.1 | 7.9 | .8
Oregon .........................| 7.2 | 8.1 | .9
Pennsylvania ...................| 5.8 | 6.1 | .3
Vermont ........................| 5.2 | 5.7 | .5
Virginia .......................| 4.4 | 4.8 | .4
Wisconsin ......................| 5.1 | 5.6 | .5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------