Thank God for Mississippi.
Georgia notched the second worst unemployment rate in the nation — 7.8 percent — in July, according to a report released Monday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Only Mississippi, with a jobless rate of 8 percent, came in below the Peach State.
Each month the BLS lists unemployment rates for every state. During the peak of the recession, Georgia — hit hard by the collapse of the housing and construction industries — had much company at the bottom of the jobless rankings.
But the recession ended five years ago and many of Georgia’s downscale partners have since seen their economies rebound. Alabama, for example, carries an unemployment rate of 7 percent and comes in at No. 40 on the BLS scale. (All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included in the BLS list.)
South Carolina’s unemployment rate is 5.7 percent, tied with Pennsylvania and Ohio for 22d worst.
Florida’s unemployment rate reached 11.4 in early 2010, a full point higher than Georgia’s jobless nadir. Today, Florida’s jobless rate stands at 6.2 percent.
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