areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Twenty- eight areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, while 3 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in March was 10.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 9.0 percent a year earlier.
In March, 164 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, up from 108 areas a year earlier, while 46 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent, down from 89 areas in March 2009. Three areas in California again registered the highest unemployment rates: El Centro, 27.0 percent; Merced, 22.1 percent; and Yuba City, 21.7 percent. Among the 28 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 15 were located in California and 5 were in Michigan. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La., registered the lowest unemployment rate in March, 4.6 percent. Overall, 151 areas recorded unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 10.2 percent, 215 areas reported rates below it, and 6 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
Farmington, N.M., again registered the largest over-the-year jobless rate increase (+5.0 percentage points). The areas with the next largest rate increases were Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-W.Va. (+4.5 percentage points) and Yuma, Ariz. (+4.1 points). Thirteen additional areas recorded jobless rate increases of 3.0 percentage points or more. Four areas reported over-the-year jobless rate decreases of at least 1.0 percentage point in March, the largest of which was Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. (-4.9 points).
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 March, 15.5 and 15.0 percent, respectively. Twenty additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in March were New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., 6.0 percent; Oklahoma City, Okla., 6.1 percent; and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.7 percent. Forty-six of the large areas registered over-the-year unemployment rate increases, the largest of which occurred in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (+3.2 percentage points). The next largest rate increases were recorded in Jacksonville, Fla. (+2.9 percentage points), and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (+2.7 points). Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis., and Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y., were the only large areas to post jobless rate decreases over the year (-0.6 and -0.2 percentage point, respectively).
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 March, the two divisions that comprise the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area registered the highest jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 16.4 percent, and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 14.9 percent. Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 5.9 percent, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.9 percent. These two divisions make up the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., metropolitan area.
In March, 33 of the 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 (+2.7 and +2.5 percentage points, respectively). Three other divisions had rate increases of 2.0 percentage points or more. The jobless rate in Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., was unchanged from a year earlier.
In 5 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 March. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., posted the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.0 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.3 percent, compared with Framingham, Mass., 7.3 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In March, 322 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year decreases in nonfarm payroll employment, 45 reported increases, and 5 remained unchanged. The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-150,800), followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (-150,500), Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-132,200), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-82,000), and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-75,500). The largest over-the-year percentage losses in employment were reported in Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-W.Va. (-7.4 percent); Farmington, N.M., and Odessa, Texas (-6.8 percent each); and Grand Junction, Colo., and Yuma, Ariz. (-6.6 percent each).
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+5,100), Lawrence, Kan. (+2,900), Yakima, Wash. (+2,400), and Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, S.C. (+2,000). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were reported in Lawrence, Kan. (+5.9 percent), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+5.5 percent), Ocean City, N.J. (+3.6 percent), Manhattan, Kan. (+3.4 percent), and Yakima, Wash. (+3.2 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. (-5.7 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-4.7 percent), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-4.5 percent), San Francisco-Oakland- Fremont, Calif. (-3.9 percent), and Sacramento -Arden-Arcade - Roseville, Calif. (-3.5 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in March 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 1 reported an over-the-year employment gain. The largest over-the-year employment decrease in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. (-112,100), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (-111,100), New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.(-86,200), Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich.(-47,500), and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.(-44,700). Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury,Mass., was the only metropolitan division with an over-the-year increase in employment (+500).
The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the metropolitan divisions was reported in Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-4.8 percent), followed by Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-4.5 percent), Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif., and San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. (-3.9 percent each), and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla. (-3.7 percent). Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Mass., experienced the only over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+0.7 percent).
