March 01, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Highest unemployment rate in 2003: Oregon

States in the Pacific division continued to record the highest jobless rates in the nation in 2003: Oregon, 8.2 percent, Alaska, 8.0 percent, and Washington, 7.5 percent.

States with the highest unemployment rates, and U.S. unemployment rate, 2003
[Chart data—TXT]

Overall, 17 states and the District of Columbia had rates above the national average of 6.0 percent in 2003, and one state had a rate equal to it. Four of the five Pacific states and three of the four West South Central states recorded rates above the U.S. figure.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. To learn more, see State and Regional Unemployment, 2003 Annual Averages (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04-289.

 

Related TED article:

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