(AP) -- Michigan's unemployment rate jumped to 12.6 percent in March, up from 12 percent the month before.
The higher number is likely to keep Michigan in the spotlight as the state with the nation's worst unemployment rate. The national unemployment rate in March was 8.5 percent.
The state Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Development said Wednesday that the weakness in the auto industry along with the national recession have "severely affected" Michigan's labor market over the past year.
The state's unemployment rate has risen over the past year at a faster pace than any twelve-month period since 1980.
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