Yesterday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that twenty-four states recorded unemployment rate increases from a year earlier. Once again Nevada reported the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.2 percent in June. The rate in Nevada also set a new series high. The state also recorded the largest jobless rate increase from June 2009 (+2.3 percentage points).

Now consider the situation in Nevada, whose main source of revenue is predicated upon gambling, to the situation in Louisiana, whose main income sources are commercial fishing and oil/gas extraction. Whereas unemployment in Nevada has been surging through these difficult economic times, the jobless rate in Louisiana has been moving in the opposite direction. For example, over the last twelve months unemployment in Nevada has exceeded the national rate by 3.39 percentage points on average. On the other hand, unemployment in Louisiana has come in below the national rate by 2.62 points.