New jobless numbers a mixed bag for Obama

New jobless numbers are a bit of a mixed bag for President Obama and his re-election bid.

The unemployment rates went up in 44 states in July, certainly not good news for the president. As the Associated Press noted, this is "the most states to show a monthly increase in more than three years and a reflection of weak hiring nationwide."

But, as some tweeters pointed out, only three of the decisive swing states have unemployment rates above the national average of 8.3%.

They are Nevada (12%), North Carolina (9.6%), and Florida (8.8%). Michigan, considered by some to be a swing state, has a jobless rate of 9%.

Jobs remain a major issue for Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

The Associated Press pointed out that unemployment rates rose in nine battleground states.

From the AP:

In the most closely contested states in the presidential race, unemployment has fallen over the past year. But it has started to tick up in recent months. In Nevada, the rate rose to 12 percent in July from 11.6 percent. That's the highest rate in the nation, though it's still much lower than a year ago, when it was 13.8 percent.

In Florida, the rate increased to 8.8 percent from 8.6 percent in June. Unemployment also increased in Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin and New Hampshire.

The rate was unchanged at 7.2 percent in Ohio, the only swing state that didn't suffer an increase. Still, that rate is down sharply from 8.9 percent a year ago.

Some battleground states reported large job gains that could lead to lower unemployment rates in coming months. Michigan added 21,800 jobs, the second-largest increase in the nation, after California. Michigan's gains were mostly in manufacturing and government. Virginia reported the third-largest increase, 21,3000, mainly in education and health care.

Most other battleground states added small numbers of jobs.