KIRKSVILLE, MO -- We've all heard the grim reports of more and more people losing their jobs everyday.
We wondered just how extreme the unemployment rate went up in 2008, so we sent our Fact Finder Team to get the numbers. Fact Finder learned that in December, the national unemployment rate reached the highest it has been in 16 years---7.2 percent. Economists say the U.S. is in what may be the longest and deepest recession in the post war period.
In November, Iowa's unemployment rate was the 6th lowest in the nation at 4.3 percent. Missouri did not fare as well, ranking 34th with a 6.7 percent unemployment rate.
Fact Finder crunched the numbers and found that Iowa’s job market improved from October to November 2008. But in Missouri, unemployment went up by .2 percent.
For a complete list of the state's unemployment rankings click here
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