For August, jobless rate up in 26 states
Pa. hit 8.2%, up from 7.8%. Rate fell in 12 states, including N.J.
WASHINGTON - Unemployment rates rose in August for the third straight month in a majority of states, fresh evidence that the depressed job market is widespread.
The Labor Department said Friday that unemployment rates increased in 26 states. That included Pennsylvania, where the August jobless rate was 8.2 percent, up from 7.8 percent in July.
The unemployment rate fell in 12 states - including New Jersey, where it was 9.4 percent, down 0.1 of a percentage point - and remained unchanged in 12 others.
Separately, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index, released Friday, inched up to 57.8 in September from 55.7 last month. But consumers are more pessimistic about their prospects. A component of the index tracking consumer expectations for six months from now fell in September to its lowest level since May 1980.
The Labor Department report showed that Nevada had the nation's highest unemployment rate among states for the 15th straight month. The rate there rose from 12.9 percent in July to 13.4 percent in August. The state has been hampered by foreclosures, a depressed construction industry, and a decline in tourism.
California had the second-highest rate, at 12.1 percent, followed by Michigan, at 11.2 percent.
North Dakota had the nation's lowest unemployment rate, 3.5 percent. That was up from 3.3 percent in July.
Booming oil, agriculture, and manufacturing industries have helped the state keep the lowest unemployment rate since November 2008.