Unemployment rates in the Carolinas, Florida, and Delaware reached record highs as joblessness rose in 43 states in December. South Carolina set a new high with 12.6 percent unemployment; Florida, 11.8 percent; North Carolina, 11.2 percent; and Delaware, 9 percent, according to figures issued Friday by the Labor Department in Washington. At 12.1 percent, Washington, D.C., also reached the highest level in monthly records dating back to 1976. Employment is 'still very weak, which is why we think the unemployment rate is going to continue to rise,' Marisa Di Natale, a director at Moody's Economy.com in West Chester, Pa., said before the report. 'There are some states that are in pretty big trouble, fiscally speaking. 2010 is not going to be a good year.' Mississippi and New Jersey both breached the 10 percent mark, leaving 16 states with double-digit rates. Michigan remained in the worst shape at 14.6 percent, followed by Nevada at 13 percent and Rhode Island at 12.9 percent. As for payrolls, California showed the biggest decline with a drop of 38,800. Texas followed with a 23,900 decline and Ohio was next with a 16,700 drop. Nationally, the jobless rate held at 10 percent as payrolls fell by 85,000. The U.S. has lost 7.2 million since the start of the recession in December 2007, the most of any slowdown in the post-World War II era. Employment dropped in 39 states in December, seven more than in the prior month, indicating job losses were widespread. With the national unemployment rate projected to average 10 percent this year, state budgets may continue to be strained by limited tax revenue and jobless insurance payments. While the pace of firings has eased over the last year, the time it is taking to find a job rose to a record 29.1 weeks in December. The jobless rate held at 10 percent nationwide in December, the Labor Department said on Jan. 8. A jump in the number of discouraged workers leaving the labor market kept the rate from rising. The number of states with at least 10 percent unemployment climbed to 16 last month, two more than in November, Friday's report showed. Mississippi, with a jobless rate of 10.6 percent, and New Jersey, at 10.1 percent, joined the list. New Jersey's rate was the highest in 32 years. 'I try to make the connections, I meet people and give them follow-up e-mails, nothing right now seems to work,' said Kyra DeBlaker-Gebhard, who lives in the nation's capital. 'I'm concerned the longer I'm not working the less desirable I look.' DeBlaker-Gebhard, 32, lost her job with AARP in Washington, the advocacy group for the elderly, in March. She worked as a contractor for the government from July through October and has since resumed collecting unemployment benefits while sending out resumes. She has had two interviews in the last year. 'I don't feel confident,' DeBlaker-Gebhard said. 'Even part-time jobs are hard to come by.' 