The peak unemployment numbers have yet to arrive and again, it's unlikely the US will see a rapid recovery. Burning through credit the last few years will take a while to work out. The stimulus package may help prevent the situation from getting even worse but there's no fast track to correcting financial abuse.
Signs that unemployment pains may be easing in individual US states in April disappeared by May, when jobless rates jumped in 48 states and the District of Columbia, according to data released on Friday.
Michigan again reported the highest jobless rate of 14.1 percent, followed by Oregon, which notched 12.4 percent, its highest on record, the U.S. Labor Department said.
Not only did Michigan hold the highest spot in terms of unemployment, a position it has had since October, but the state also experienced the largest monthly increase in its rate as two American auto behemoths—General Motors and Chrysler—struggled.
Michigan has had an unemployment rate of 7.0 percent or higher since April 2007, and broke past 9.0 percent in December.
