Jobless Rate Rises in Five of 10 U.S. Campaign Swing States
The jobless rate rose in August in five of 10 states considered battlegrounds in the U.S. presidential election less than two months before voters head to the polls.
Unemployment climbed in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Iowa, North Carolina and Nevada, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. The rate dropped in Colorado and New Mexico, and was unchanged from July in Ohio, Florida and Virginia. Joblessness in six of the 10 states is below the national average of 8.1 percent.
Changes in the unemployment rate in the swing states may influence voters as they weigh President Barack Obama’s argument that his policies are helping heal the economy and Republican challenger Mitt Romney’s contention that the president’s policies have left Americans worse off than they were four years ago.
“In the last six months or so, the trends have never been negative from Obama’s point of view -- the growth has been slow, but it’s been steady,” said Bruce Buchanan, a political scientist at the University of Texas in Austin, who studies voter behavior in presidential elections. “And that has gradually defanged the economic issue as a promising one for Romney.”
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Unemployment climbed to 7.5 percent in Wisconsin last month from 7.3 percent in July, rose to 5.7 percent from 5.4 percent in New Hampshire, and increased in Iowa to 5.5 percent from 5.3 percent. The jobless rate in North Carolina rose to 9.7 percent in August from 9.6 percent and advanced in Nevada to 12.1 percent, the highest in the nation, from 12 percent.
full: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-21/unemployment-rate-rises-in-five-of-10-u-dot-s-dot-campaign-swing-states
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