By Calvin Palmer
California headed the list of 44 states that lost jobs in April, with a loss of 63,700 positions, according to a report issued today by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Texas came in second with a loss of 39,500 jobs, followed by Michigan, 38,400 jobs; and Ohio, 25,200 jobs.
Does the U.S Department of Labor only record job losses in units of one hundred?
Since the recession began in December 2008, and not December 2007 as the Associated Press reports, the U.S. has lost a net total of 5.7 million jobs.
Some states did see payroll gains. Arkansas and Montana tied at 1,500, followed by Florida, which saw an increase of 1,300 jobs.
Nationwide the unemployment rate stands at 8.9 percent, the highest rate for 25 years.
North Dakota has the nation’s lowest unemployment rate — 4 percent, followed by Nebraska 4.4 percent; Wyoming 4.5 percent; and South Dakota 4.8 percent.
Nearly 6.7 million people nationwide are drawing state unemployment insurance, the highest on records dating to 1967, according to figures released yesterday.
Unemployment funds in California, New York and elsewhere are exhausted, forcing those states to seek federal government money to keep paying benefits.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and some economists hope the pace of layoffs will moderate as the recession eases its grip later this year.
[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]
