West Coast states bearing brunt of high unemployment rates

WASHINGTON -- West Coast states are being battered by the ailing economy, leading the country again in high unemployment rates last month, while the Dakotas and Nebraska posted the lowest jobless rates.

The new data, released Tuesday by the Labor Department, shows that the jobs outlook in much of the country remains bleak. But no states reported wild swings in their unemployment rates, suggesting some stabilization -- at least for now.

Finding a job is taking longer for people out of work. Last year, jobless workers spent an average of 16.6 weeks looking for employment, up from 13.2 weeks in 2001.

The economy's uneven recovery poses challenges for President Bush, who is pushing for another round of tax cuts to stimulate growth and create jobs. The nation's unemployment rate has hovered around 6 percent since April 2002.

Though jobless rates aren't reaching the levels of the last recession, voters who can't find jobs could spell trouble for Bush, particularly in key battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia -- which had among the higher unemployment rates of 5.9 percent, 6 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, in December.

But the West Coast has been particularly hit hard, and many economists predict the nation's jobless rate will continue to rise in coming months, hitting as high as 6.5 percent this summer and ending the year at current levels.

"The economy is flat -- there is no new job growth," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com

Alaska posted the highest state unemployment rate last month at 7.4 percent, rising from 6.8 percent in November. A drop in tourism and low energy prices earlier this year are major factors for that state's job troubles.

The technology bust, the 2001 energy crisis and the weak travel and aviation industries have taken a major toll on West Coast states. Oregon's jobless rate was second highest at 7 percent after dropping from 7.1 percent in November. Washington posted an increase in December to 6.8 percent, up from 6.7 percent; California saw a rise to 6.6 percent, up from 6.5 percent.

Also among the highest rates were Mississippi at 6.7 percent and the District of Columbia at 6.6 percent.

The upper Midwest has consistently posted the lowest unemployment rates in the country. North and South Dakota had jobless rates of 3 percent last month, and Nebraska had 3.4 percent.

Those states have benefited from large agriculture subsidies that helped keep their economies afloat, Zandi said. Also, many workers laid off by companies in those states return to farming and are not counted as unemployed.

Another factor is the small populations in those states, Zandi said. North Dakota was the only state, along with the District of Columbia, that lost residents from July 1, 2001, to July 1, 2002.

During 2002, employment fell in 28 states and the District of Columbia. The largest declines were in Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and Georgia. The biggest employment gains for the year were in Florida, Nevada, Kentucky and Wisconsin.

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On the Net:

State unemployment report: www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/laus.pdf