October jobless rate up in all 50 states

For the first time during the current recession, unemployment in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia was higher in October than in the same month of 1981, Monitor correspondent Ed Townsend reports.

Government figures, not yet final, show 19 states and D.C. had double-digit umemployment in October. West Virginia had the highest jobless rate, 15.3 percent, followed by Alabama at 15 percent, and Michigan, 14.9 percent (above 10 percent for the 34th month straight). The Dakotas had the best record, with unemployent well under 6 percent. The nationwide rate for October, seasonally adjusted, was 10.4 percent. It went up to 10.8 percent in November.