Western jobless rate highest in the country

Four of the more populous states in the country — California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Illinois — gained the most jobs in February, with California gaining close to 100,000 jobs last month. Kansas, Missouri and Washington were among the six states that lost jobs.

All that said, California still has the second highest unemployment rate among states, at 12.2 percent. Nevada is still top (13.6 percent) among the 10 states that have double-digit unemployment. 

Colorado is not on that list, but its rate of 9.3 percent was still the highest it’s been in the 35-year history of the state unemployment report. 

For its part, North Dakota’s unemployment rate (3.7 percent) is the lowest in the country. Two other states — Nebraska and South Dakota — have jobless rates of less than five percent.