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The newest unemployment numbers
Metrics like gross domestic product and inflation changes are useful for [taking the temperature of the economy]([link removed]) overall. However, they don’t always reflect people’s personal experiences. But employment—and unemployment? Those are part of every Americans’ daily life. Here’s what the recent unemployment numbers say about the nation’s workforce.
- The nation added 142,000 jobs in August, with the largest growth in education and health services, hospitality, and construction. Yet, shifts in various sectors over the past year have led to rising unemployment rates in many states.
- The national unemployment rate rose from 3.8% in August 2023 to 4.2% in August 2024, with 7.1 million people actively seeking work.
[Map showing 12-month percentage point change in unemployment rates]([link removed])
- State unemployment data is available through July. That month, Nevada had the nation’s highest unemployment rate: 5.4%, followed by California (5.2%), and Illinois (also 5.2%). North Dakota had the lowest rate, 2.2%, followed by Vermont (2.1%) and South Dakota (2.0%).
- Unemployment rose in 42 states and Washington, DC, from July 2023 to July 2024. Rates rose the most in Rhode Island: 1.8 percentage points. They dropped in Iowa, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Mississippi, and Arizona, ranging from -0.5 to -0.2 percentage points.
[Get more economic data]([link removed])
Greenhouse gas emissions by state
The US has curbed some of its greenhouse gas emissions over the past 40 years: in 1980, the nation accounted for 25.4% of global carbon dioxide emissions. By 2021, it accounted for 13.8%. Here are the numbers on the [biggest emitters]([link removed]).
- The United States hit a greenhouse gas emissions record in 2007: 7,511 million metric tons. By 2021, that had fallen to 6,340 million metric tons. That’s not just 15.6% lower than 2007, it’s 2.3% lower than decades prior: in 1990, greenhouse gas emissions reached 6,490 million metric tons.
- Most greenhouse gas emissions came from three economic sectors: transportation, electricity production, and industry. The transportation sector (28.5% of 2021 emissions) moves people and goods via vehicles, trains, ships, airplanes, and more. And it burns a lot of fossil fuels: Over 94% of the sector’s energy came from petroleum products such as gasoline and diesel.
- Power plants account for a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, 90 of the top 100 emitting facilities were power plants.
[Map showing 2021 state greenhouse gas emissions]([link removed])
- Texas had the largest portion of greenhouse gas emissions: more than 873 million metric tons, or 13.8% of total emissions. For context, Texas comprised 8.9% of the nation’s population in 2021.
- California (6.2% of US emissions), Florida (4.3%), Pennsylvania (4.2%), and Ohio (3.7%) rounded out the top five for 2021, accounting for 32.2% of total emissions.
[See emissions in your state]([link removed])
The 2024 State of the Facts
How do people feel about facts and where they get their data? The answers are in the first [State of the Facts poll]([link removed]) in four years, and they highlight an interesting relationship between Americans and social media ahead of the presidential election.
- Although 40% of respondents said they use social media to get government data, 66% of them said they trust that information “only a little” or “not at all.”
- Government certifications are the most trusted source for providing accurate information on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, with 40% of Americans trusting them “a great deal/quite a bit,” 29% trusting them “a moderate amount,” and 30% trusting them “only a little/not at all.”
- Certifications ranked higher than local and national TV news networks, both major presidential candidates and their campaigns, newspapers, and AI chatbots.
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducts the State of the Facts poll in conjunction with USAFacts.
[See the State of the Facts report]([link removed])
Data behind the news
Did you catch the most-watched Daily Show in seven years? Jon Stewart interviewed USAFacts Founder Steve Ballmer after the presidential debate to [discuss democracy]([link removed]), government spending, and the importance of sound, trusted numbers.
A magnitude-4.7 earthquake shook Malibu, California, last Thursday. Are [earthquakes becoming more costly]([link removed])?
Last week, Russia expelled six diplomats from the United Kingdom over disputes regarding Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons. Russia has said the use of such weapons would mean NATO countries were “at war with Russia.” Here’s a rundown of the [countries in NATO]([link removed]).
Do you have what it takes to ace the [weekly fact quiz]([link removed])?
One last fact: Election edition
[Line graph of federal election turnout rate]([link removed])
Just under [67% of the citizen voting-age population]([link removed]) voted in the 2020 presidential election, the highest turnout since 1992.
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