Unemployment by state

[Brittain33]

The Boston Globe reported this morning that Rhode Island has the highest unemployment rate in the country, an alarming 8.8%. I went to the Census and found state numbers for those states that are significantly off of the national average of 6.1%.

Table A.  States with unemployment rates significantly differ-
ent from that of the U.S., September 2008, seasonally adjusted
--------------------------------------------------------------
                State                |          Rate(p)
--------------------------------------------------------------
United States (1) ...................|           6.1
                                     |             
Arkansas ............................|           4.9
California ..........................|           7.7
Colorado ............................|           5.2
Delaware ............................|           4.8
Hawaii ..............................|           4.5
Idaho ...............................|           5.0
Illinois ............................|           6.9
Iowa ................................|           4.2
Kansas ..............................|           4.8
Kentucky ............................|           7.1
                                     |             
Maryland ............................|           4.6
Massachusetts .......................|           5.3
Michigan ............................|           8.7
Mississippi .........................|           7.8
Montana .............................|           4.6
Nebraska ............................|           3.5
Nevada ..............................|           7.3
New Hampshire .......................|           4.1
New Mexico ..........................|           4.0
North Carolina ......................|           7.0
                                     |             
North Dakota ........................|           3.6
Ohio ................................|           7.2
Oklahoma ............................|           3.8
Rhode Island ........................|           8.8
South Carolina ......................|           7.3
South Dakota ........................|           3.2
Tennessee ...........................|           7.2
Texas ...............................|           5.1
Utah ................................|           3.5
Vermont .............................|           5.2
                                     |             
Virginia ............................|           4.3
West Virginia .......................|           4.5
Wisconsin ...........................|           5.0
Wyoming .............................|           3.3

[Brittain33]

Why aren't Arizona, Iowa, and New York higher?