In July, 139 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, up from 14 areas a year earlier, while 65 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent, down from 286 areas in July 2008. El Centro, Calif., recorded the highest unemployment rate, 30.2 percent, followed by Yuma, Ariz., 26.2 percent. In addition to being affected by the economic downturn, these two adjacent areas are highly agricultural and experience extreme weather during summer months. Among the 19 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 8 were located in California and 5 were in Michigan. Bismarck, N.D., registered the lowest jobless rate in July, 3.1 percent, followed by Fargo, N.D.- Minn., and Rapid City, S.D., 4.2 percent each. Overall, 149 areas posted unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 9.7 percent, 219 areas reported rates below it, and 4 areas had the same rate.
For the seventh consecutive month, all 372 metropolitan areas had over-the-year unemployment rate increases. The largest jobless rate increase from July 2008 was reported in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.(+8.4 percentage points), followed by Bend, Ore. (+7.1 points) and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. (+7.0 points). An additional 15 areas registered unemployment rate increases of 6.0 percentage points or more, and another 38 areas had rate increases of 5.0 to 5.9 points. Only two areas had over-the-year increases of less than a full percentage point - Bismarck, N.D. (+0.5 point) and Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn. (+0.8 point).
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest unemployment rate in July, 17.7 percent. The large areas with the next highest rates were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 14.3 percent; Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., 13.1 percent; Providence-Fall River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass., 12.7 percent; and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C., 12.4 percent. Fifteen additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in July were Oklahoma City, Okla., 5.9 percent, and Washington Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.2 percent. All 49 large areas registered over-the-year unemployment rate increases of at least 2.0 percentage points. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., had the largest jobless rate increase from a year earlier (+8.4 percentage points). The areas with the next largest rate increases were Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (+6.2 percentage points); Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash. (+5.8 points); and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. (+5.7 points). Three additional large areas recorded rate increases of 5.0 percentage points or more.
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 July, the two divisions that comprise the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area registered the highest jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 19.0 percent, and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 16.8 percent. The division with the next highest rate was Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.4 percent. Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 5.7 percent, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.3 percent.
In July, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate increases of at least 2.2 percentage points. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich., and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., experienced the largest rate increases (+8.6 and +8.2 percentage points, respectively). Two additional divisions reported over-the-year rate increases of 5.0 percentage points or more.
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 July. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., posted the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.2 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.4 percent, compared with Framingham, Mass., and Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 7.2 percent each).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-240,100), followed by Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-206,200), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.- N.J.-Pa. (-157,900), and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-143,100). The largest over-the-year percentage decline in employment was reported in Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz. (-9.3 percent), followed by Prescott, Ariz. (-8.9 percent), Reno-Sparks, Nev. (-8.4 percent), and Holland-Grand Haven, Mich. (-8.3 percent).
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+2,900), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+2,700), El Paso, Texas (+2,400), and Hot Springs, Ark.(+1,200). The largest over- the-year percentage gains in employment were reported in Hot Springs, Ark. (+3.1 percent), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+2.8 percent), Sandusky, Ohio (+2.4 percent), McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+1.4 percent), and El Paso, Texas (+0.9 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment declined in all 38 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2008. The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-7.8 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-7.5 percent), Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-6.6 percent), and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. (-6.2 percent).
