Unemployment rates increased in the month of July from June in close to every state in the country, including the swing states in the upcoming November presidential election. Of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 44 saw increases in their unemployment rates. Rates fell in just Rhode Island and D.C., while they remained flat in four states.

As the tight election race nears the November election date, voters have their attention focused on the economy in the country and the rate of unemployment that is currently at 8.3% nationwide.

The U.S. uses an electoral voting system where states cast their electoral vote as a group. Because of that unique system, the two candidates for the presidency – President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney the Republican challenger – have become embroiled in tight races in seven swing states where voters in recent polls said they were still undecided about who they would be voting for.

Those seven states include Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa and Colorado. In all of them, the rate of unemployment remained either flat or increased during the month of July. The highest rate of unemployment in the entire nation is Nevada at 12%. Florida has a rate of 8.8%, while Colorado’s is the national average of 8.3%.

For many, the presidential election has come down to a referendum over how well Obama has handled the economy since the ended of the recession during 2009. Most people in the U.S. feel the economy is more important than any other issue, at the present time.