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 5/10 Good --- newsbusters.org http://newsbusters.org/node/feed
Friday, May 16, 2008 --- 70 days ago http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2008/05/16/california-draggin-wolverine-
 How different do you think Americans' take on the current economy would be if the business press picked up on the fact that the bad employment news is coming predominantly out of two struggling states -- and that most of the rest of the nation is holding its own?
That's the question that occurred to me as I looked at April's Bureau of Labor Statistics regional and state employment and unemployment report this morning.
Three things stick out: - How big of a drag California is in the overall employment picture. - How much of an outlier Michigan is. - How Oklahoma continues to impress.
How much California and Michigan are affecting the overall picture is a real eye-opener:
(Note: The seasonally adjusted rate for all states differs from the nationally reported rate of 5.0% earlier this month because of differences in data collection methods.)
The Not-So-Golden State and the home of the Wolverines have a combined 15% of the workforce, but almost 20% of the unemployed. Without them (tempting, but I have relatives in CA who needs to be warned first), the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate would be 0.2% lower, the unadjusted rate would be 0.3% lower, and the press wouldn't be talking about the supposed recession (OK, they wouldn't be talking about it quite as much).
Only three other "states" -- relatively small AK, DC, and RI -- have seasonally adjusted or unadjusted unemployment rates of 6.0% or above. Roughly tw ... |
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