WASHINGTON â Unemployment rates rose in 43 states last month, the government said Friday, painting a bleak picture of the job market and illustrating nationwide data released two weeks ago. The rise in joblessness was a sharp change from November, when 36 states said their unemployment rates fell. Four states â South Carolina, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina â reported record-high jobless rates in December. New Jersey's rate, meanwhile, rose to a 33-year high of 10.1 percent while New York's reached a 26-year high of 9 percent. ___________________ Obama is the man with the plan.