Civilian labor force population: 558,900
May 2013 unemployment rate: 8.9 percent
Rhode Island鈥檚 unemployment actually ticked up in May, and at 8.9 percent, it鈥檚 fourth-highest unemployment rate in the US. But the workforce expanded, with the state adding 600 jobs. A year ago, the unemployment rate in Rhode Island was 10.6 percent.