HispanicBusiness

Unemployment in America continued its upward climb in April, increasing in 44 states, with the nation's hardest hit region being the West, recording a rate of 9.7 percent.

But the report, released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, concluded that nationwide and regional unemployment rates were little changed last month. The overall U.S. rate rose from 8.5 percent in March to 8.9 percent in April.

All told, about 271,000 people lost their jobs in April.

Michigan posted the highest unemployment rate, at 12.9 percent, followed by Oregon (12.0), South Carolina (11.5), Rhode Island (11.1) and California (11.0). The state with the lowest unemployment rate is North Dakota, at 4 percent.

Meanwhile, some experts predict that the nationwide unemployment rate will reach 10 percent by year's end, and could soon surpass that of Europe.