"At its core, propaganda refers to any technique or action that attempts to influence the emotions, attitudes, or behavior of a group, in order to benefit the sponsor."
--Scholar Kenneth A. Osgood; on Prof. Osgood, see (footnote 2); image from
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Our One-Sided War on Terror - Stephen M. Walt, Foreign Policy: "After the 9/11 attacks, the
But what about the parallel problem of terrorist recruitment? The other way to defeat terrorism is to make it harder for movements employing terrorist methods to recruit new followers, and to gradually marginalize the radicals within the societies in which they were trying to grow. There was a lot of talk about trying to do this immediately after 9/11: The State Department commissioned a task force report on public diplomacy toward the Arab/Islamic world, George W. Bush's administration hired a series of public diplomacy czarinas, and various experts offered advice on how the United States could undercut Osama bin Laden's message and rebuild the country's dubious image in that part of the world. This goal also underlay Barack Obama's initial outreach to the region and especially his infamous Cairo speech in June 2009.
New Report on Civilian Drone Casualties - Ben, Wanted Dead or Alive: A Journal of Strategic Manhunts and Counter-Terrorism: "Speaking of the New America Foundation, Peter Bergen and Jennifer Rowland report on a leaked internal Pakistani government document on civilian casualties from drone strikes which concludes they are much lower than has often been claimed in Pakistan (i.e. Interior Minister Rehman Malik's claim that 80% of people killed in drone strikes were civilians) but higher than the Obama administration has claimed (i.e. John Brennan's absurd claim in 2011 that "there hasn't been a single collateral death" from drone strikes). ... Drone strikes continue to have positive strategic utility (i.e. they kill more terrorists than they create) if signature strikes and 'double-tap' strikes are removed from the equation, and if the public diplomacy of drone strikes could be better managed (i.e. don't let Pakistani Islamists like Maulana Sami ul-Haq, leader of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Islam party, claim that drones kill "dozens of innocent people daily" without a response)."
Snowden Case Reveals Obama's Personal Arrogance - moonofalabama.org: "The Obama administration is handling the Snowden case the most stupid way it could. Wasn't there once some bureau for public diplomacy and strategic communication in the State Department? The administration should have shut up as soon as Snowden went public. Instead it is creating a hero in the eyes of many U.S. people and in the eyes of everyone in the rest of the world. Trying to justify its spying on the whole world, threatening other states over Snowden's asylum and pushing 'allies' to bring down foreign presidential planes will endear the U.S. to no one. ... Ahh - the rule book is out of the window. Screw public diplomacy. Just don't care how the world sees the U.S.. It is all about Obama miffed that Putin is 'thumbing his nose' at him. Who is this President of the Russian Federation that dares to do so to King Obama of the United States?"
Empowered to Live Life to the Fullest - U.S. Department of State, humanrights.gov: "The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) stands as an advocate for the universal rights of all persons around the world. ECA’s EMPOWER Programs, a series of four separate two-way international exchanges, aim to put disability rights
at the heart of our nation’s public diplomacy efforts." Image from article, with caption: Yasar Hayatkhan was one of 11 people from South and Central Asia selected to participate in one of the four EMPOWER Programs carried out by American Councils.
U.S. Consulate General, Chennai Training Program for Journalism Standards and Ethics - grants.gov: Estimated Total Program Funding: $100,000 Award Ceiling: $100,000 Award Floor: $50,000 CFDA Number(s): 19.040 -- Public Diplomacy Programs Description [:] The U.S. Consulate General, Chennai will host a year-long training program in South India that will focus on journalism ethics, standards, citizen journalism, and advocacy through reporting. The three-tiered program will bring U.S. experts to speak and work with editors, advertising managers, mid-career journalists, and journalism school curriculum developers. The awardee will work together with Indian journalism school sub-awardees in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. One significant purpose of this grant is to strengthen the connections between American and Indian journalism schools and journalists. At the end of the program, U.S. and Indian journalists and journalism professors will work together on a white paper of recommendations on how to improve India’s ranking on the World Press Freedom Index. ... Link to Additional Information [:] The Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Consulate Chennai."
Op-Ed: Federal employees identify U.S. stations for government-paid news - Ted Lipien, digitaljournal.com: Federal employees were told to identify
Czech Senator, former journalist, appeals to Secretary Kerry to ensure equal rights for all RFE/RL employees - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "In an open letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, a member of the Czech Senate, Jaromír Štětina, a former journalist, appealed for ensuring equal rights for all Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) employees. RFE/RL has its headquarters in Prague.
As the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry is an ex officio member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) which provides U.S. public funding for RFE/RL and has the ultimate responsibility for its programs and administrative policies. Senator Štětina points out in his letter to Secretary Kerry that unlike American and Czech employees, third country foreign employees of RFE/RL in the Czech Republic, the vast majority of whom are journalists, are denied by the American management equal rights to employment protections under the Czech labor law. ... Senator Štětina wrote to Secretary Kerry that neither RFE/RL nor BBG has ever responded to negative media coverage which refers to these personnel policies as 'betrayal of ideals', 'hypocrisy,' 'Guantanamo in Prague,' 'violation of human rights,' 'lawlessness,' 'double standards,' 'moral disaster,' 'fraud,' 'cynicism,' 'public idiocy instead of public diplomacy.' 'It is evident to me, a former journalist,' Senator Štětina wrote, 'that public diplomacy, which ignores public opinion, is both an expensive public disaster and worthless public hypocrisy.'" Image from entry, with caption: Czech Senator Jaromír Štětina is known for his human rights campaigns. This photo shows him meeting with Roma women in the Czech Republic to support their action against racial violence.
Are IBB officials trying to settle illegal RIF suit or will employee hardships continue? - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "We are wondering whether International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) officials–IBB Director Richard Lobo, IBB Deputy Director Jeff Trimble Acting General Counsel Paul Kollmer-Dorsey and others–are in fact trying to solve the lawsuit against BBG and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB) over illegal OCB RIFs? The suit has gone on for over three years and has reached more than $3 million in compensation owed to RIFed employees."
CUSIB reposts S. Enders Wimbush’s response to our Letter to the Editor of WSJ - The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusib.org) has received a response from former Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) member S. Enders Wimbush to our Letter to the Editor of The Wall Street Journal in response to his article 'S. Enders Wimbush: The Fading Voice of Liberty,' WSJ, July 18, 2013. CUSIB is an organization of unpaid volunteers who support U.S. international broadcasting and an Advisory Board dedicated to promoting media freedom and other rights worldwide. We welcome Mr. Wimbush’s response as a further contribution to the debate on the future of U.S. international broadcasting in which we hold differing views and positions. Response from S. Enders Wimbush [:] Dear Ms. Noonan and Members of the Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting, Your 'response' to my WSJ op-ed is a poorly disguised effort to avoid debating the critical issues surrounding reform of U.S. international broadcasting by trying to discredit the messenger. It is full of innuendo and suggestion about me and my motives that cannot be supported by facts. ... CUSIB violently misrepresents my recommendations for fixing U.S. international broadcasting and the reasons for doing so, both crystal clear from my WSJ op-ed and my testimony to the HFAC.
Here they are again. I recommend creating a non-federal organization chartered by Congress for all of U.S. international broadcasting’s disparate parts. This would require de-federalizing VOA and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. VOA’s journalists would no longer be civil servants, which would put to rest the old VOA lament that being a government journalist is an oxymoron. I also argued for grandfathering current VOA employees in their federal status, so that the transition out of the federal agency would be seamless. An advisory board of some kind would be likely. I recommend an impenetrable firewall against political interference from State or other agencies, as well as against advisory board members’ temptation to meddle in management. All activities, including essential support services, would be put under professional media management, like virtually all other international broadcasters. This would allow truly strategic investment where US interests are at stake, something that can not happen now because division of broadcast labor is largely cemented in place by the current funding priorities for five separate networks that rampantly duplicate services and seldom share resources. This would not disconnect U.S. international broadcasting from US national security but re-connect it. It is disconnected now. My unambiguous argument—that U.S. international broadcasting is strategically disoriented—forms the greater part of my WSJ piece. Yet somehow CUSIB has read it to mean exactly the opposite." Wimbush image from
Trans Regional Web Initiative Survives Congressional Assault - To Inform is to Influence: IO, SC, PD, what's in a name?: "I must voice my disgust for the use of ‘propaganda’ by Mr. Vanden Brook in his article [House fails to kill Pentagon's foreign websites]. The two of us recently sat down together and I explained the definition of propaganda (there is none, but it’s like porn, you know it when you see it). I actually started building a collection of propaganda for demonstration purposes. According to Dr. Steven Luckert of the US Memorial Holocaust Museum, propaganda is roughly based on facts or stereotypes which are distorted to support an extreme ideology (I’m grossly paraphrasing). These sites, however, post 'fair and objective' articles from legitimate news sources. ... My next points and they’re nit picky: 'that such websites have the potential to unintentionally skew U.S. policy positions or be out of step with U.S. government efforts in a particular country,' a quote by unnamed 'some State Department Public Diplomacy officials and senior embassy officials'. First of all, it shouldn’t be a quote if it’s a conglomeration of statements, especially by unnamed multiple sources. Second, the word 'potential' is used, the same as I have the potential to be a gigolo, a thief, or an assassin, but I am none of the above. The last thing about this sentence is that this is the point of central planning and decentralized execution – you must train, then trust but supervise and verify. When the US military began allowing hundreds and thousands of webpages to be built, those lessons were learned the hard way. State Department has the same solution, not everything is approved by the Secretary of State, the authority has to be delegated down the chain."
Al Jazeera America Promises To Stand Out In Cable News Market, But Concerns Loom - Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: "Philip Seib, director of USC's Center on Public Diplomacy and author of 'The Al Jazeera Effect,' told HuffPost that the network’s Qatari backers are motivated by the realization that 'you’re not a real international player in the broadcast world until you’re in the
Ambassador Kohona markets Sri Lanka's economic gains to the World - Daya Gamage, asiantribune.com: "Rarely these days those who are handling external affairs for Sri Lanka use public diplomacy and strategic communication devises to market its impressive record of achievement releasing thousands of former Tamil Tiger combatants after successful rehabilitation process . ... Significantly, the economic aspect of post-war building of Sri Lanka has not been cogently placed before international community as one strategy to combat the propaganda machinery of the separatist elements in the Tamil Diaspora. ... Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Dr. Palitha Kohona
very eloquently placed the economic aspect of the rebuilding of the nation, while under siege by the separatist Tamil Tigers and in the aftermath of the completion of the war since May 2009, at the UN-sponsored 'High-Level Forum on South-South Cooperation for Sustainable development -ICT, Innovation, Culture and Sustainable Urbanization'- in Hong Kong on July 18." Kohona image from article
S. Korea to conduct worldwide survey on national image - "South Korea plans to conduct a comprehensive survey on its image in 10 countries across the globe in an effort to effectively push for a public diplomacy drive, officials said Sunday. Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to carry out the national image survey in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Germany, India, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam. More than 1,000 citizens from each country will participate in the survey that will be taken for about two months starting next month, with the results to be available in October, according to the officials. 'The survey results will be used as basic data for the government's establishment of mid- to long-term policy measures fit for each nation to promote South Korea in the world,' a ministry official said. Four major countries with closer ties with Seoul -- the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- are not on the list as the government has relatively ample information and survey results, according to officials. The ministry has striven to strengthen its soft-power diplomacy after it secured a budget of 6.7 billion won (US$5.99 million) for the first time this year. The government plans to conduct two more rounds of such surveys in 2014 and 2015 involving 20 countries each year, its officials said. 'So far, those who have knowledge of or relations with us were involved in surveys on the national image, which would have led to more positive answers. But the envisioned comprehensive version is expected to help us learn the true nature about how people across the world feel about South Korea,' another ministry official said."
12th ‘Han-Language Bridge’ competition 第十二届”汉语桥” [China HunanTV] #RisingChina #CulturalCapital - wanderingchina.org: "Chinese public diplomacy with edutainment at its sharpest, in a reminder to the world – we’re not a militant monolith! University students from 77 countries congregate to exchange narratives in modern and traditional Chineseness.
That their introductions took up more than 11 minutes out of the 79 minute runtime was pretty cool.. It is also noteworthy that Chinese state media channels are not exactly sitting idly as state instruments. Their creativity and platforms for expression are worth catching up on, if Mandarin isn’t a barrier. In any case, the production and narrative values are good enough it’s worth watching if you’re got an hour plus to spare. For more – 中国湖南卫视官方频道 China HuNanTV Official Channel to see a spread of their content." Image from
Cultural diplomacy all about blending cultures: ICCR DGV - usiness-standard.com: "Dhrupad music incorporated into a choreographed Mohiniyattam work, a tandem of classical ballet, Kathak and Flamenco or even sharing of stage space by Qawali troupes from Pakistan, T
Sports diplomacy in the Australian context: A case study of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - epublications.bond.edu.au: "Sports diplomacy in the Australian context: A case study of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [;] Stuart Murray, Bond University [;] Date of this Version 7-26-2013 [;] Document Type Journal Article [;] Abstract [:] For a county with a small population, a remote location and an awkward colonial past, Australia has a remarkable record of success in international sport, so much so that sport is often considered a ‘religion’ in the ‘Lucky Country’. If diplomacy is the business of representation, it would be expected that sport features prominently in Australia’s diplomacy. However, sport oddly languishes under the banner of Public Diplomacy (PD) and is overseen by an unloved, under-resourced and under-represented Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). To exploit the type of vertical, horizontal and plural channels and networks diplomacy can offer in the 21st century, DFAT must remove sport from under the PD banner. Sports diplomacy must be funded by DFAT appropriately and developed to truly represent the place of sport in Australia’s history, culture and society."
Zimbabwe: Diplomatic Hiccup Shows Delicacy of Harare, Pretoria Ties - allafrica.com: "South Africa has generally had strong relations with Zimbabwe, but some say a last week's hiccup over criticism of election preparations reveals the diplomatic fine line the southern African nations walk.
Last week, Lindiwe Zulu, a top international advisor to South African President Jacob Zuma, voiced concern that Zimbabwe was not well-prepared for the July 31 election, saying Zuma had spoken to Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe by phone about the matter. President Mugabe responded quickly, calling Zulu a 'stupid and idiotic street woman' who should be restricted from speaking about the vote. Zuma's office then released a statement saying it regretted the unauthorized statements and denying there had been any such phone call in which Zuma criticized election preparations. Clayton Monyela, South Africa's head of public diplomacy, said only Zuma would speak on matters relating to his responsibilities as a facilitator bilateral mediation." Image from
Mr Prime Minister! - Haider Mehdi, nation.com.pk: "Let us not forget that the Pakistani masses are a frustrated lot. The 2008-2013 democracy delivered nothing of substance for the average Pakistani citizen. It simply added to their daily deprivations, economic difficulties, lack of health and education facilities and increased poverty. The people of Pakistan do not want a political system that can only diffuse their anger by rhetorical public diplomacy and repeated democratic slogans and elections, while leaving their demands largely unmet. They want a democracy that delivers, meets their demands, resolves political problems, and finds the ways and means to manage social and economic justice. To put it simply, a democratic dispensation that has “solutions” to public issues and the “solutionists” determined in their task of dispensing public welfare at all levels of society."
It’s not just about tweeting links | Part 2 - Ben Giddings, blogs.fco.gov.uk: "[D]igital can add
value at every stage of a public diplomacy process." Giddings image from entry
At Clear Channel, Women's Health Is "Divisive," Rush Limbaugh Isn't - Hilary Tone, mediamatters.org: "Hilary Tone joined Media Matters in September 2012 as an Assistant Editor after spending three years doing communications for progressive non-profits.
She specializes in civil rights, LGBT issues, and immigration policy, and holds a Masters of Public Diplomacy from the University of Southern California." Tone image from entry
RELATED ITEMS
To My State Department Colleagues - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: The White House and the State Department complained that the Russian government permitted NSA leader Edward Snowden to meet with human rights groups at the
The Sisi Propaganda - Ziad Akl, dailynewsegypt.com: "So the day is done and as expected millions took to the streets in response to General Abdul Fatah Al-Sisi’s call to authorise the army to “fight terrorism.” Scenes from yesterday’s different marches and demonstrations show how confusing things were. It was indeed more of a pro-army and pro-Sisi mobilisation than an anti-terrorism event.
I understand that those who are pro-Sisi are also with his anticipated crackdown on terrorism (in whichever way the army chooses to define it), but that does not necessarily justify the unmistakable propaganda that occurred yesterday. I am not claiming that yesterday’s marches were nothing but propaganda, but I am pointing out how many of those who participated were under the influence of a collective infatuation that certainly found its supporting means and started to grow worrisomely." Akl image from entry
Christians in Iran jailed for 'propaganda' - Baptist Press: Eight Iranian Christians were charged with "action against the national security" and "propaganda against the system" recently after being arrested in a raid of an evening prayer service, evidence of ongoing persecution of Christians in Iran.
Sochi Olympians, Guests Exempt From 'Gay Propaganda Law,' IOC Says - RIA Novosti, The Moscow Times: The International Olympic Committee says it has received assurances from Russia's government that athletes and spectators at next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi will be exempt from a controversial law banning anything deemed to promote homosexuality. Since it was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin last month, the legislation targeting so-called homosexual propaganda has attracted calls from activists around the world to boycott Russia's first Winter Olympics.
How to Mock a Nazi: Two Russian Posters That Hit 'Em Where It Hurt - Rebecca Onion, slate.com: These posters, which lampoon Nazi leaders whose physical attributes don’t match their exalted rhetoric about the “Aryan race,” were originally illustrated by the Russian artist Boris Efimov and distributed through the TASS News Agency’s poster studio. One shows the 5-foot-5 and cadaverous propaganda minister
Joseph Goebbels standing on a table to give a speech, while the other mocks Hitler’s deputy (and head of the Luftwaffe) Hermann Göring, who was anything but “streamlined.”
The nonprofit Russian War Relief, a group soliciting aid for the Russian home front, reproduced these posters in English in 1941 and distributed them in the
Maps As Propaganda - Andrew Sullivan Daily Dish: Image from entry of a Dutch map from 1915:
AMERICANA
MORE AMERICANA (funemployment time; "funemployment" term learned from a good friend)
The 10 best states to be unemployed - Alexander E.M. Hess, Michael Sauter and Samuel Weigley, USA Today: These are the best states in which to be unemployed.
10. Kansas
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 44% (23rd highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.2% (4th highest)
Unemployment rate: 5.8% (14th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 1.3% (tied for 24th highest)
Kansas residents received an average of nearly $334 a week in unemployment insurance in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2013. At 43.2% of the state's average weekly wage, this was more than all but three other states. Also impressive, the state had a June unemployment rate of just 5.8%, while the national rate was 7.6%. However, Kansas has lagged behind the rest of the country in job growth in the past six months, growing payrolls by just 1.3% versus 1.7% nationwide. One of the major drags on the state's economy has been Wichita's aircraft industry, which has not recovered the jobs it cut during the recession.
9. Utah
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 31% (6th lowest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.3% (3rd highest)
Unemployment rate: 4.7% (8th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 2.2% (6th highest)
Unemployed Utahns entitled to benefits received more than 43% of their average weekly wages, higher than all other states except for Hawaii and North Dakota. Those finding themselves unemployed may have an easier time jumping back into the workforce as well. The unemployment rate in Utah was just 4.7% in June, the eighth lowest of all states. Between June 2012 and June 2013, there were 2.2% more nonfarm workers, a bigger increase than all but five other states.
8. Washington
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 45% (tied for 19th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 38.6% (15th highest)
Unemployment rate: 6.8% (20th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 2.0% (tied for 7th highest)
Washington residents received fairly generous unemployment insurance benefits in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2013, averaging nearly $378 a week. This was equal to 38.6% of the state's average weekly wage of just under $980 -- among the highest in the nation -- and was better than the 33% workers received nationally in benefits on average. The unemployed in Washington also faced a fairly strong job market, with employment growing at 2% in the past 12 months through June. The Seattle area has recovered the majority of jobs it lost during the recession, although much of the job growth and availability was limited to high-skilled workers with backgrounds in engineering and technology.
7. Vermont
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 48% (12th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 39.9% (10th highest)
Unemployment rate: 4.4% (4th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 1.1% (19th lowest)
Vermont paid out a benefit of nearly $309 in the 12 months running through the first quarter of 2013. This comprised nearly 40% of average weekly wages, higher than the majority of states. The unemployment rate in Vermont as of June 2013 was just 4.4%, lower than all but three other states, although the number of nonfarm jobs rose only 1.1% between June 2012 and June 2013, lower than the 1.7% nationwide growth.
6. Idaho
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 47% (tied for 14th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 37.5% (18th highest)
Unemployment rate: 6.4% (17th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 3.0% (the highest)
Idaho had the nation's fastest nonfarm job growth of 3% between June 2012 and June 2013, which may help explain the state's relatively low unemployment rate of 6.4%. Among the unemployed, a relatively high percentage received benefits. However, the state average weekly wages of just $681 was one of the lowest in the nation, compared to $923 nationally. Idaho had the highest percentage of workers earning minimum wage in the country, and in an interview with Idaho's StateImpact, Mike Ferguson, the director of the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy noted that there was an ongoing "race to the bottom and we're pretty darn close to winning."
5. Minnesota
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 47% (tied for 14th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 39.3% (13th highest)
Unemployment rate: 5.2% (9th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 1.7% (14th highest)
Job growth in Minnesota was in line with the rest of the nation. Similarly, the percentage of unemployed residents receiving unemployment benefits was only slightly above the national benchmarks. The state's low unemployment rate of 5.2% helped make Minnesota a top five state for unemployed workers seeking a job. Also, Minnesota's ability to support its unemployed residents is likely to be less affected by the sequester than other states. While the average national cut in unemployment benefits is expected to drop by $43 per person, it is only expected to drop by $37 a person in Minnesota.
4. Iowa
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 45% (tied for 19th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.2% (4th highest)
Unemployment rate: 4.6% (5th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 1.6% (21st highest)
Iowa had one of the nation's lowest unemployment rates — at just 4.6%, it is three percentage points lower than the national rate of 7.6%. The unemployment insurance benefit was equal to 43.2% of the average weekly wage — tied for fourth highest in the nation. But according to The Des Moines Register, job growth in Iowa is expected to fall short of goals set by Governor Terry Branstad, who aimed to add 200,000 jobs over five years ending in 2016.
3. North Dakota
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 36% (14th lowest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 43.9% (2nd highest)
Unemployment rate: 3.1% (the lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 2.6% (4th highest)
The average weekly benefit for unemployed workers in North Dakota was more than $376 as of the first quarter of 2013, higher than all but five other states. However, just 800 people received unemployment insurance, the second fewest of all states. North Dakota and its residents are benefiting from an oil boom, which is bringing many jobs to the area. The number of nonfarm workers grew 2.6% between June 2012 and June 2013, higher than all but four other states. This comes on top of a 9.8% growth in the previous 12 months, which was by far the biggest growth of all states that year. The unemployment rate as of June 2013 was a mere 3.1%, lower than any other state.
2. Hawaii
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 51% (10th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 53.0% (the highest)
Unemployment rate: 4.6% (5th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 1.3% (tied for 24th highest)
The average benefit in Hawaii was more than $422 per week, comprising 53% of the average weekly wages — both the highest in the country. Of those who were unemployed, 51% received benefits, higher than all but nine other states. Hawaii had only a 4.6% unemployment rate as of June 2013, lower than all but four other states. There were 6.1% more tourists in the state in the first four months of 2013, compared to the same time in 2012, with a related increase of 6.3% in total spending during that time. According to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, this translated into 3,000 more local jobs.
1. Montana
Pct. unemployed getting benefits: 55% (8th highest)
Pct. average weekly wage covered: 40.3% (9th highest)
Unemployment rate: 5.4% (12th lowest)
1-yr. job growth: 2.0% (tied for 7th highest)
Being unemployed in Montana does not look the same as it does for most of the country. On average, unemployment benefits covered more than 40% of the state's average weekly wages in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2013, the ninth highest of all states. In addition to unemployment rate being among the lowest in the country, nonfarm employment grew by 2%, higher than all but a handful of states. Employment growth was most noticeable in the information field and in and professional and business services, where the number of jobs grew by 7.4% and 7.1%, respectively. Montana was also in the top 10 of all states in terms of employment growth in the previous 12 months.
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