Unemployment rates up in most US states in July

More than half of US states had an increase in their unemployment rates in July, reflecting slow economic growth and a frustratingly weak job market.

Unemployment rate rose in 28 states and the District of Columbia, the Labor Department said on Monday.

The largest increase in unemployment occurred in New Jersey, which lost 11,800 jobs last month. At 9.5 percent, Nevada continues to have the highest unemployment rate of any US state.

Employers have been adding jobs, but the pace has not been fast enough for the 11.5 million Americans who want a job, but they cannot find one.

Nationwide, the unemployment rate has fallen to 7.4 percent, but that’s mainly because many job seekers have stopped looking for work.

Some 6.6 million workers say they want a job, but they do not count as unemployed because they have lost hope in finding a job and are not actively searching.

Moreover, most of the jobs created in the US during the month of July were either part-time or low-paying jobs — or both.

According to the Associated Press, the employment situation in July 2013 was “a disappointment. The quality of the jobs was even worse.”

According to a Gallup poll in August, one in four Americans name the economy as the most important problem facing the country today, followed by unemployment and jobs at 19 percent.

Overall, 53 percent of Americans surveyed by the poll mentioned some economic issue as the most important problem in the US.

Americans’ confidence in the economy also worsened in July, reaching the lowest level since April.