WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states in June, evidence that slower hiring is affecting many parts of the country.
The Labor Department says the unemployment rates in 28 states and Washington, D.C., increased last month. Rates declined in eight states and were flat in 14. That's a change from May, when 24 states reported falling unemployment rates.
Twenty-six states reported a net gain in jobs in June, while 24 states lost jobs.
The changing trend in state unemployment rates reflects a weaker economy hampered by high gas prices and lower factory output. Nationally, employers added only 18,000 net jobs in June, the second straight month of feeble hiring. The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 9.2 percent.
