Why is RI's Unemployment Rate So High?

"The" question for Rhode Island -- how can your state's unemployment rate be so high for no obvious reason? For anyone who has observed (or lived through) the way things are done here, the reasons are obvious and numerous. However, a picture can often say a thousand words. Here's my picture (click to enlarge):

If you want to know why our state's unemployment rate is and has been so high (#4 nationally), you need only consider its flip side -- employment. As my last post showed, employment here peaked in December of 2006 -- a full year before the US! So, a prolonged period of substantial employment declines (8% ultimately), created ever-rising unemployment rates.