Western states find little good news in latest economic numbers

Analysts are sifting through the latest economic data for their states, but there is little good news to be found. According to December figures on unemployment recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment is up over last month in each of the 50 states. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau's preliminary December statistics on single-family housing showed residential housing permits down in all states.

Analysts are sifting through the latest economic data for their states, but there is little good news to be found. December figures on unemployment recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that unemployment is up over last month in each of the 50 states. The lowest unemployment rate among all states was in Wyoming, at 3.4 percent, up from 3.2 percent in November.

Only three other states (Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) had unemployment rates of 4.0 percent or below. At the other end of the spectrum were six states with unemployment rates of 9.0 percent or above. Western states in this grouping included California (9.3 percent), Nevada (9.1 percent) and Oregon (9.0 percent).

The highest unemployment rate was Michigan's 10.6 percent. The national rate for December was 7.2 percent. Meanwhile, the preliminary December statistics on single-family housing became available from the U.S. Census Bureau. Economy watchers took a first look at December single-family permits for 2008 compared to 2007, and saw again that residential housing permits were down in all states.

In the West, five states recorded decreases of 50 percent or more in single-family permits in 2008. Nevada and Utah had the largest declines (56 percent). The other states in this category were Arizona, California, and Oregon. The smallest decline in the West was in Wyoming, with permits down 28 percent. Permits in Texas were down 33 percent, according to the preliminary Census Bureau data.

The job growth figures for December were equally grim. Forty-two states lost jobs year-over-year in December, while the nation as a whole was losing more than two million jobs. Wyoming and Texas ranked first and second in employment growth during the 12-month period, but all other Western states lost jobs.

The table shows employment changes in the Western states in the 12 months since the recession began in December 2007. Texas added more jobs than any other state, while the nation as a whole was losing more than two million jobs. California's job loss from December 2007 to December 2008 was the greatest of all states, with non-farm employment down by 259,800. Arizona has lost 116,500 jobs since the recession began in December.