With U.S. unemployment at 5.8% in November, the country is back where it was in July of 2008, before the financial crisis hit. In November of 2008, the national unemployment rate hit 6.8%, on its way to 10% in October of the following year. The recovery has been unequal, though, in terms of where job growth has come back the most.

We have looked at the winners — that is, the states with the lowest November unemployment rates — and here is a list of the seven states that continue to lag:

1. District of Columbia: 7.4%, down from 7.8% in November 2013; civilian labor force down 49,100 year-over-year to 381,600
2. Mississippi: 7.3%, from 8.0% a year ago; labor force down 23,100 to 1.247 million
3. California: 7.2%, from 8.4% in November 2013; labor force up 265,000 to 18.822 million
4. Georgia: 7.2%, from 7.6% a year ago; labor force up 17,100 to 4.756 million
5. Rhode Island: 7.1%, from 9.4%; labor force up 2,400 to 553,600
6. Oregon: 7.0%, from 7.3% in November 2013; labor force up 41,200 to 1.962 million
7. Nevada: 6.9%, from 9.1% a year ago; labor force up 3,500 to 1.369 million

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also noted two metro areas where unemployment remains significantly higher than the national average: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, where the unemployment rate is now 8.0%, and the Detroit-Warren-Livonia metro area, where unemployment currently runs at 7.9%.

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Notes: BLS methodology and unemployment by state.

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