Finance and Economic

All 50 states were hit with increases of more than one percentage point in their unemployment rates last year, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The sharpest rise occurred in Michigan, where the average jobless rate for 2009 was 13.6 percent, up 5.3 points from 2008’s average of 8.3 percent.

The only other state with an increase of more than five points was Nevada, which soared from an average unemployment rate of 6.7 percent two years ago to 11.8 percent last year.

New York’s increase was 3.1 points — from an annual jobless rate of 5 freecreditscore.3 percent in 2008 to 8.4 percent in 2009.

The figures were contained in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ yearend report for 2009, which included a full set of annual averages. The results for all 50 states and the District of Columbia can be accessed by clicking here.

North Dakota was the most stable state in 2009. Its annual unemployment rate of 4.3 percent was just 1.1 points higher than its 2008 average of 3.2 percent.

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