Jobless rate drops in most states

The unemployment rate increased in just three states during November, one of the strongest months for job growth in recent years.

{mosads}Connecticut, Louisiana and Washington state saw their jobless rate tick up, even as the economy was adding 321,000 new jobs. But at the same time, 41 states and Washington, D.C., had drops in their unemployment rates, as the national rate fell to 5.8 percent.

The drop in both the national unemployment rate, and in states around the country, came the same month that Republicans drubbed Democrats in this year’s midterm elections.

That’s left Democrats questioning the quality of the case they made to voters, but also underscores that Americans remain uneasy about the state of the economy, even with the stronger job numbers. Exit polls from November found the vast majority of voters not believing the economy was doing well, and worried about the direction the economy was heading.

North Carolina had the biggest drop in joblessness last month, down from 6.3 to 5.8 percent. Delaware, Georgia, Maryland and Michigan all had drops of 0.4 percentage points.

Georgia’s drop means that Mississippi, at 7.3 percent, is all alone with the highest unemployment rate in the country. Both Georgia and Mississippi had jobless rates of 7.6 percent in October.

North Dakota, still awash in energy jobs, continued to have the lowest rate in the country — 2.7 percent. Five other states — Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Minnesota and Idaho — all had unemployment rates below 4 percent.

Iowa and South Carolina, both important states in the presidential nominating process for 2016, have had relatively stable employment over the last year. Iowa’s unemployment rate is now 4.3 percent, 0.1 point higher than in November 2013. South Carolina’s is 6.7 percent, down from 6.8 percent at this time last year.

New Hampshire, which holds the nation’s first presidential primary, has a jobless rate of 4.1 percent, down from 5.2 percent in November 2013.