The unemployment rate is measured by the number of people looking for jobs divided by the total number of people in the labor force. The national rate is rising, but RTW states have not been hit as hard. The most recent figures from October 2009 show the average rate in a RTW state is 8.4 percent, non-RTW states are at 9.2 percent, and Michigan is the highest in the country at 15.1 percent.

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