The Worst States for the Unemployed

Tennessee, Louisiana and Illinois are the worst states for the jobless. 24/7 Wall St. breaks them and seven other states down by unemployment rate, job growth and the percentage of unemployed who are receiving benefits.

The number of nonfarm jobs in Illinois grew a whopping 0.8 percent between June 2012 and June 2013, far below the 1.7 percent growth tallied across the country. And the number of jobs in both the public sector and manufacturing — two of the state’s major industries — decreased during that time.

The average weekly payout in unemployment insurance benefits for the jobless in Louisiana for the year ending in early 2013 was just $201, lower than any other state except for Mississippi. Taken as a percentage of the average weekly wage, Louisiana’s benefits are the lowest in the country, paying out less than 25 percent of that average. The state is one of a minority in which the unemployment rate rose between 2012 and 2013.

Read about Tennessee below.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

24/7 Wall St.:

Tennessee is the worst state in the country to be unemployed. The average weekly unemployment insurance payout totaled just 28.6% of the average weekly wage, lower than all but eight other states. Meanwhile, just 30% of the unemployed received those benefits, also among the lowest in the country.The state enacted a new law in 2012 that required the unemployed to make “a reasonable effort to secure work” by demonstrating they have reached out to at least three employers per week. In addition, the law requires people receiving benefits to take any job offering 100% of prior wages in the first 13 weeks. After this, to continue receiving benefits they may not turn down any job offering 75% of past wages. By the 38th week of unemployment, this standard falls to 65% of past wages. The state’s unemployment rate of 8.5% in June 2013 was the 10th highest in the country and up from 8.2% in June 2012, despite a decline across the country.

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