Pete Bigelow · Michigan Leads Midwest’s Unemployment Rate Drop

December 21st, 2011


The national unemployment rate fell 0.4 percent in November to 8.6 percent. Michigan led the downward charge.

No state in the nation experienced a bigger drop. Michigan’s unemployment rate fell 0.8 percent in the month to 9.8 percent. It’s the first time in three years the state’s unemployment rate was less than 10 percent. Overall, 43 states reported unemployment declines in November.

The Midwest’s monthly unemployment rate edged downward 0.3 percent in November to 8.2 percent, the second-lowest of the nation’s four regions. Every state in the region experienced a decline in unemployment rate except Indiana, which saw its rate hold steady at 9.0 percent.

The West North Central sub-region, defined by the U.S. Labor Department as North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, held the nation’s lowest sub-regional unemployment rate, at 6.3 percent.

Here’s a state-by-state look at the November unemployment numbers for each Midwest state:

State                      Oct. 2011            Nov. 2011                       Change
Michigan                 10.6                     9.8                                 -0.8 percent
Minnesota                 6.5                     5.9                                 -0.6 percent
Ohio                          9.0                     8.5                                 -0.5 percent
Wisconsin                 7.7                     7.3                                  -0.4 percent
Iowa                          6.0                     5.7                                  -0.3 percent
Pennsylvania            8.1                     7.9                                  -0.2 percent
Illinois                       10.1                  10.0                                  -0.1 percent
Indiana                      9.0                     9.0                                   0 percent

Category: Biztech, Government, Michigan, jobs, unemployment
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