Wednesday, Aug 10 2011 2:30PM
Rural unemployment remains an issue nationwide. The jobless rate in rural areas rose in June, a BLS report shows.
Citing the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) unemployment report for June, the Daily Yonder states the jobless rate for rural America rose markedly in June, reaching 9 percent for the first time since the first quarter of 2011.
According to the news source, the rural unemployment rate increased from 8.7 percent in May to 9.2 percent in June, slightly below the national average of 9.3 percent.
The source adds the rural jobless rate has remained near 9 percent for two-and-a-half years, peaking at just above 11 percent and falling below 9 percent for only a few months in 2010.
The rural county with the highest jobless rate in June, according to the Daily Yonder, was Wade Hampton County, Alaska, where unemployment was 20.1 percent. More than 650 county residents were unemployed during the month, compared to 2,142 residents with jobs.
Several counties in Alaska and California were included in the top 50 in terms of the highest jobless rates in June. In July, BLS reported California had the second-highest unemployment rate in the country, ranking behind only Nevada.