States show signs of sluggish May job growth

President Obama has tried to make the case of late that the economy has hit some recent “headwinds” — such as high gas prices, the Japanese earthquake and the economic situation in Europe. 

But Republicans say that the administration’s policies, including the stimulus and new regulations, are a millstone on the economy. The GOP is also highlighting the one-year anniversary of the White House’s “Recovery Summer” to make its case that Republicans have better ideas on economic growth. 

The states hardest hit, in volume of lost jobs in May, were California (almost 30,000), New York (close to 25,000), Pennsylvania (14,200), Michigan (13,400) and Maryland (13,300). Percent-wise, the sharpest drops in employment were in Alaska (1.5 percent), Vermont (1.2 percent), Delaware (0.9 percent) and West Virginia (0.7 percent).

Florida had the highest gain in jobs in May, with close to 29,000, while Wyoming had the highest percentage gain (0.8 percent). Ohio, Arizona, Louisiana and Texas also posted gains.

More broadly speaking, Nevada and California continue to have the highest unemployment rates in the country, at 12.1 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively, with Florida, Michigan, Mississippi and South Carolina also at 10 percent or higher.

But Nevada and Michigan — along with Indiana — have seen their unemployment rate drop by at least two percentage points over the last year. Nevada, for instance, had close to 15 percent unemployment in May 2010.

On the other side of the equation, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota and New Hampshire continued to have unemployment rates below 5 percent in May.