Reuters: Regulatory News: U.S. election swing states see large jobless rate drops in June

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U.S. election swing states see large jobless rate drops in June Jul 20th 2012, 22:00 Fri Jul 20, 2012 6:00pm EDT July 20 (Reuters) - Jobless rates in 47 of the 50 U.S. states dropped in June from a year earlier, the Labor Department said on Friday, including electoral battleground states such as Florida and Nevada which could help President Barack Obama's reelection hopes. Six of the 10 states where the fight between Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is fiercest had rates below the national level of 8.2 percent in June. These swing states represent nearly half the 270 electoral votes a candidate must collect to win the White House. The low jobless rates have given Obama an "odd advantage," said Drew Matus, an economist at UBS Investment Research. "States that traditionally vote Democratic have seen the least improvement in their labor markets while the so-called 'swing states' have done much better on average," he said in a research note. "A continuation of this trend would be supportive of the President's re-election effort." Recent polling suggests that voters' unease about the country's employment and financial health could threaten Obama's re-election bid against the likely Republican nominee for president, Mitt Romney. In June, Florida reported the second largest drop in its jobless rate of all states from a year earlier. The rate fell 2.1 percentage points to 8.6 percent, which was unchanged from May. For most of the year, Florida has notched some of the steepest jobless rate drops - its rates in both May and April were two points below the levels in the same months in 2011. Another state considered up for grabs in the election, Nevada, had the largest drop in its unemployment rate in June from a year before. Its unemployment level has fallen steadily for nearly a year, but Nevada still maintained the highest jobless rate of the country, 11.6 percent, in June. In May, its rate was also 11.6 percent. Ultimately, said Philippa Dunne and Doug Henwood, editors of the Liscio Report, an economic newsletter closely tracking the states, Friday's report "is more evidence that our labor market is mired." The country as a whole only added 80,000 jobs in June, fueling voter anxiety about the economy. According to the Labor Department, unemployment rates rose in June from a month earlier in 27 states, dropped in 11 states and the District of Columbia and held steady in 12 states. In terms of non-farm payroll employment, June also presented a mixed bag. From May, 29 states and the District of Columbia gained jobs, while 21 states lost jobs. Over the year, non-farm employment rose in 44 states and the District of Columbia and decreased in six, the Labor Department said. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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