by Calculated Risk on 12/18/2009 10:54:00 AM

In general the unemployment rates declined in November along with the national rate, however the unemployment rate hit new record highs in Florida and South Carolina.

From the BLS: Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in November. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia recorded over-the-month unemployment rate decreases, 8 states registered rate increases, and 6 states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the year, jobless rates increased in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
...
Michigan again recorded the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.7 percent in November. The states with the next highest rates were Rhode Island, 12.7 percent, and California, Nevada, and South Carolina, 12.3 percent each. North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate, 4.1 percent in November, followed by
Nebraska, 4.5 percent, and South Dakota, 5.0 percent. The rate in South Carolina set a new series high, as did the rate in Florida (11.5 percent).
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image in new window.

This graph shows the high and low unemployment rates for each state (and D.C.) since 1976. The red bar is the current unemployment rate (sorted by the current unemployment rate).

Fourteen states and D.C. now have double digit unemployment rates. New Jersey, Indiana, and Mississippi are all close.

Two states are at record unemployment rates: Florida and South Carolina, and several other states are close.