The Labor Department said earlier this month that the nation's economy gained 162,000 jobs in March. But the national unemployment rate held steady at 9.7% for the third month in a row.
Many economists and policymakers expect the nationwide jobless rate to remain elevated for some time to come, even as job growth slowly resumes.
0:00/1:10Unemployment benefits taxed tooWhile 11 states recorded jobless rates above the national average, there were 24 states that posted rates below the national figure in March.
In a continuing trend, Michigan's 14.1% jobless rate in March was the highest rate in the nation. Nevada, at 13.4%, had the second highest rate. California, Rhode Island and Florida suffered unemployment rates above 12%.
Jobless rates in California, Florida, Nevada and Georgia all set record highs during March.
North Dakota continued to have the lowest jobless rate in March. The state's 4% rate was followed by South Dakota's 4.8% and Nebraska's 5% unemployment rates.
Friday's report came one day after lawmakers voted to push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment benefits until June 2, a measure President Obama promptly signed into law.
The measure restores federal unemployment benefits to more than 200,000 jobless Americans who started losing them on April 5 after lawmakers let that deadline pass.
Meanwhile, the strain of high unemployment has drained jobless benefit funds in a majority of states, forcing many to borrow billions from the federal government to help out-of-work Americans.
The National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group, said last week that 33 states and the Virgin Islands have depleted their funds and borrowed more than $38.7 billion to provide a safety net. Four others are at the brink of insolvency.
Congress extends jobless benefitsFirst-time jobless claims in Tennessee drop
