areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Twenty-nine areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, while 2 areas
registered rates below 5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in February was 10.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 8.9 percent a year earlier. Among the 371 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll data were available, 343 areas reported over-the-year decreases in employment, 26 reported increases, and 2 had no change.
In February, 187 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, up from 99 areas a year earlier, while 42 areas posted
rates below 7.0 percent, down from 86 areas in February 2009. Three areas in California again registered the highest unemployment rates: El
Centro, 27.2 percent; Merced, 22.1 percent; and Yuba City, 21.6 percent. Among the 29 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 13 were located in California and 4 were in Michigan. Fargo, N.D.-Minn., and Lincoln, Neb., registered the lowest unemployment rates in February, 4.6 and 4.9 percent, respectively. Overall, 165 areas recorded unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 10.4 percent, 201 areas reported rates below it, and 6 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
Farmington, N.M., registered the largest jobless rate increase from February 2009 (+5.0 percentage points). The areas with the next largest rate increases were Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-W.Va. (+4.8 percentage points); Decatur, Ill., and Yuma, Ariz. (+4.5 points each); and Rock- ford, Ill. (+4.0 points). All five of these areas experienced job losses in the goods-producing sector over the year. Thirty additional areas recorded jobless rate increases of 3.0 percentage points or more. Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., reported the largest over-the-year jobless rate decrease in February (-3.8 percentage points). Three other areas posted rate decreases of at least 1.0 percentage point.
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., reported the highest unemployment rates in February, 15.3 and 14.7 percent, respectively. Twenty-two additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in February were New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., 6.5 percent; Oklahoma City, Okla., 6.7 percent; and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.9 percent. Forty-eight of the large areas registered over-the-year unemployment rate increases, the largest of which occurred in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (+3.6 percentage points). Three areas in Florida reported the next largest rate increases: Jacksonville, Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (+3.3 percentage points each). Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis., was the only large area to post a rate decrease over the year (-0.3 percentage point).
Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are composed of 34 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In February, the two divisions that comprise the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area again registered the highest jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 16.1 percent, and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 14.8 percent. Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 6.2 percent, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 7.1 percent. These two divisions make up the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., metropolitan area.
In February, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate increases. Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis., and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla., experienced the largest rate increases (+3.2 and +3.1 percentage points, respectively). Eight other divisions had rate increases of 2.0 percentage points or more, while four divisions had rate changes of less than 1.0 point. Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., posted the smallest rate increase (+0.6 percentage point).
In 6 of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges between the highest and lowest division jobless rates were 2.0 percentage points or more in February. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., posted the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.2 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 14.1 percent, compared with Framing-ham, Mass., and Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 7.9 percent each).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In February, among the 371 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll data were available, 343 areas reported over-the-year decreases in employment, 26 reported increases, and 2 had no change. The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (-206,100), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-190,300), Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-159,300), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-91,800), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-91,500). The largest over-the-year percentage losses in employment were reported in Odessa, Texas (-9.0 percent), Yuma, Ariz. (-8.8 percent), and Farmington, N.M., Grand Junction, Colo., and Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-W.Va. (-7.8 percent each).
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+4,400), Yakima, Wash. (+2,000), College Station-Bryan, Texas, and Jacksonville, N.C. (+1,400 each), and Ocean City, N.J. (+1,100). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were reported in Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+4.8 percent), Ocean City, N.J. (+3.3 percent), Jacksonville, N.C. (+3.0 percent), and Yakima, Wash. (+2.6 percent).
Over-the-year, nonfarm employment declined in all 36 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2009. The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-5.9 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-5.2 percent), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-5.1 percent), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-4.7 percent), and Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (-4.2 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in February 2010 for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable
employment centers within a metropolitan area. Thirty-one metropolitan divisions reported over-the-year employment losses and one had no change. The largest over-the-year employment decrease in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. (-137,500), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (-137,300), New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. (-128,900), and Philadelphia, Pa. (-60,700). Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Mass.-N.H., was the only metropolitan division with no over-the-year change in employment.
The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the metropolitan divisions was reported in Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-5.4 percent), followed by Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., and Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-4.9 percent each), San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. (-4.5 percent), and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla. (-4.3 percent).
