Job Markets: The 10 Worst States

With the economy teetering on the brink of recession, economists and armchair economists are closely analyzing the number of jobless claims. While the number has been rising pretty consistently across the country, and the national unemployment rate is at 5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are some states with worse job markets than others.

According to CareerBuilder, the worst job markets are found in the following 10 states:

Michigan
Mississippi
South Carolina
Alaska
California
District of Columbia
Ohio
Arkansas
Nevada
Kentucky

Metropolitan areas within Michigan, California and Ohio were all featured on NuWire's 2007 list of the Top 5 Declining U.S. Markets. The metropolitan statistical areas (Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn in Michigan, San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City in California and Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor in Ohio) all suffered losses in terms of both jobs and population.

Real estate investors could likely find deals in these markets because of all the so-called motivated sellers who have to move elsewhere to find jobs. But, as my dad always told my brother and me, our baseball and basketball card collections weren't actually worth the prices listed in the Becketts we pored over unless we sold them to someone. So investors should keep in mind that, while a property may have a fantastic price, they still need an exit strategy, and with people and jobs leaving town, exit strategies may be harder to come by than deals.