Jobless rates in June rose in 28 states

WASHINGTON - Unemployment rates rose in 28 states and Washington, D.C., in June, the Labor Department said Friday - evidence that slower hiring is affecting many parts of the country.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey already reported this week that their jobless rates rose last month - by 0.2 of a percentage point in Pennsylvania to 7.6 percent and by 0.1 of a point to 9.5 percent in New Jersey.

Rates fell in eight states and were flat in 14, Friday's nationwide report showed. That's a change from May, when 24 states reported falling unemployment rates.

Twenty-six states reported a net gain in jobs in June, while 24 states lost jobs.

The changing trend in state unemployment rates reflects a weaker economy hampered by high gas prices and lower factory output. Nationally, employers added only 18,000 net jobs in June, the second straight month of feeble hiring. The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 9.2 percent.

Nevada had the highest unemployment rate among the states in June, at 12.4 percent. That was up from 12.1 percent in May.

It was followed by California (11.8 percent) and Rhode Island (10.8 percent).

North Dakota reported the lowest unemployment rate, at 3.2 percent. It was followed by Nebraska (4.1 percent) and South Dakota (4.8 percent).

Tennessee, Missouri, and Virginia reported the biggest job losses.

Tennessee said 16,900 jobs were cut last month, led by steep losses in state and local government. Missouri suffered its biggest losses in education and health services.

Those states were also affected by harsh weather this spring, which may have led to some job losses.

Analysts are expecting another weak month of hiring in July, based on recent data.

The economy needs to generate about 125,000 jobs per month to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. It needs at least twice that many to rapidly reduce unemployment.