Unemployment in July rose in 28 states, fell in 9

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rates rose in July in more than

half the states for the second straight month, evidence that job

growth remains weak nationwide.

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The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment increased in 28

states, fell in nine and remained unchanged in 13. Those are nearly

the same figures as in June, when unemployment rose in 28 states,

fell in eight and was unchanged in 14.

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Nationwide, hiring picked up slightly in July. The economy added

117,000 jobs, the government reported earlier this month. That was

roughly double the net jobs created in each of the previous two

months. And the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1 percent in July

from 9.2 percent in June.

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Still, hiring has slowed sharply this year – from an average of

215,000 net jobs a month from February through April to an average

of 72,000 in May through July.

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Growing worries that the United States could slip back into

recession, combined with fears about Europe’s debt crisis, have

sent stocks plunging. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 419

points Thursday. The Dow is down about 14 percent since July 21.

The Dow fell further Friday, declining 20 points in mid-day

trading.

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The number of states reporting job gains rose to 31 in July from 26

in June. But the gains weren’t always enough to lower unemployment

rates in those states. An unemployment rate can increase even if

jobs are added, if many more people look for work.

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That’s what happened in Michigan last month. It reported the

third-biggest gain in jobs: 23,000. About half the gain was in

government jobs, defying a nationwide trend of job cuts by state

and local governments.

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State officials said the gain was likely exaggerated by seasonal

adjustments. Fewer school employees, for example, were laid off

this summer after cuts in previous years. If seasonal layoffs are

fewer than in previous years, that factor can inflate the

seasonally adjusted number of new jobs.

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Michigan’s unemployment rate jumped to 10.9 percent from 10.5

percent, reflecting more unemployed people, even though the state

added jobs. The government uses two surveys to count the number of

jobs and the number of unemployed, and the two surveys can

sometimes diverge.

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New York enjoyed the biggest job gain in July: 29,400. The state

added jobs in education and health care and professional and

business services – a category that includes accounting,

engineering, and temporary workers, among other

professions.

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Texas reported the second-most number of new jobs. It added

positions in retail, transportation, education and health, and

hotels, restaurants, and other leisure industries.

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Texas has accounted for nearly half the U.S. jobs created since the

recession officially ended two years ago, according to calculations

by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Its job-creation figures are

coming under scrutiny now that Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, has

launched a presidential campaign.

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Illinois reported the biggest loss of jobs last month: 24,900. It

was followed by Florida, with a loss of 22,100 and Minnesota, with

19,800. Many of Minnesota’s job losses stemmed from the state

government’s shutdown last month. State agencies temporarily laid

off 22,000.

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Nevada had the nation’s highest unemployment rate, at 12.9 percent.

It was followed by California, at 12 percent.

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North Dakota had the lowest rate, 3.3 percent, followed by

Nebraska, 4.1 percent.

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The nation’s economy slowed sharply in the first half of the year,

to an annual pace of only 0.8 percent. That was the slowest since

the recession officially ended.

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Economists had hoped the slowdown was mostly a reaction to

temporary factors. They include a spike in gas prices in the spring

and supply disruptions stemming from Japan’s March 11

earthquake.

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But now most analysts expect the weakness to persist for the rest

of this year and next.

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Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan Chase, has dramatically

lowered his forecasts for the U.S. economy. He now expects an

annual growth rate of only 1 percent in the October-December

quarter, down from a previous estimate of 2.5 percent.

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And the economy will expand at an annual rate of only 0.5 percent

in the first half of next year, down from an earlier estimate of

1.5 percent, he predicts.

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