The New York Times today takes a look at where the recession and anemic recovery (and possible re-recession) of the last few years has hit the hardest. Although the worst damage has been in the West--Nevada and California in particular--the Times notes that six of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rates are now in the South. The article says, "Several Southern states -- including South Carolina, whose 11.1 percent unemployment rate is the fourth highest in the nation -- have higher unemployment rates than they did a year ago. Unemployment in the South is now higher than it is in the Northeast and the Midwest, which include Rust Belt states that were struggling even before the recession."
Tennessee is not one of the six Southern states in the top 10--those are both Carolinas, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama--but our current 9.7 percent jobless rate would put us next on the list, at 11th. (Or 12th, really, since Illinois and Alabama are tied for 10th.) And while our August rate dipped a little, from 9.8 percent in July, it remains higher than both the national average (9.1 percent) and the Tennessee rate of a year ago, which was 9.4 percent. The Times article offers varying possible explanations for the Southern lag in recovery, including the region's long reliance on manufacturing and construction jobs, both of which have been particularly hard hit in the last few years.
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