In May, 124 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, up from 107 areas a year earlier, while 70 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent, down from 91 areas in May 2009. El Centro, Calif.,and Yuma, Ariz., again recorded the highest unemployment rates, 27.5 and 27.2 percent, respectively. Among the 13 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 11 were located in California. Bismarck, N.D., registered the lowest unemployment rate in May, 3.1 percent, followed by Fargo, N.D.-Minn., 3.5 percent, and Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn., 3.8 percent. Overall, 149 areas recorded unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 9.3 percent, 218 areas reported rates below it, and 5 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
Yuma, Ariz., and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., registered the largest over-the-year jobless rate increases in May (+2.9 and +2.8 percentage points, respectively). The areas with the next largest rate increases were Yuba City, Calif. (+2.6 percentage points), and Carson City, Nev. (+2.5 points). Seven other areas reported rate increases of 2.0 percentage points or more. Two Indiana areas posted the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decreases: Kokomo (-6.6 percentage points) and Elk-hart-Goshen (-4.8 points). Four additional areas reported rate decreases of at least 2.0 percentage points.
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., registered the highest unemployment rate in May, 14.1 percent. The areas with the next highest rates were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 13.9 percent, and Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., 13.7 percent. Fourteen additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., registered the lowest jobless rate among the large areas, 6.0 percent. Three other large areas had rates below 7.0 percent: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis., 6.4 percent; Oklahoma City, Okla., 6.5 percent; and Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas, 6.9 percent. Thirty-three of the large areas reported over-the-year unemployment rate increases, while 14 areas recorded rate decreases and 2 had no rate change. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., experienced the largest rate increase from May 2009 (+2.8 percentage points), followed by Pittsburgh, Pa., and Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, Calif. (+1.4 percentage points each). Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis., and Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., were the only large areas to post jobless rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more over the year (-1.5 and -1.2 points, 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 May, the two divisions that comprise the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area registered the highest jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 14.6 percent, and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 13.0 percent. Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 5.5 percent.
In May, 27 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate increases, 6 areas reported decreases, and 1 did not change. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., experienced the largest rate increase (+1.6 percentage points), followed closely by Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass., and Philadelphia, Pa. (+1.5 points each). Two divisions reported rate decreases of more than 1.0 percentage point, Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-1.4 percentage points), and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-1.1 points).
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 May. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H.,posted the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.7 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 12.9 percent, compared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 6.2 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In May, 270 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year decreases in nonfarm payroll employment, 95 reported increases, and 7 were unchanged. The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-84,300), followed by Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-75,200), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (-66,200), and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-53,400). The largest over-the-year percentage losses in employment were reported in Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Wash. (-4.9 percent), Waterbury, Conn. (-4.6 percent), Grand Junction, Colo. (-4.3 percent), and El Centro, Calif., Sumter, S.C., and Yuba City, Calif. (-4.1 percent each).
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+13,200), Honolulu, Hawaii (+4,400), Kokomo, Ind. (+4,100), and Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas (+4,000). The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was registered in Kokomo, Ind. (+11.2 percent), followed by St. Joseph, Mo.-Kan. (+5.7 percent), Manhattan, Kan. (+5.1 percent), and Bloomington, Ind. (+4.7 percent).
Over-the-year, nonfarm employment decreased in 33 of the 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. (-3.7 percent), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-3.1 percent), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-2.8 percent), and Sacramento--Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif. (-2.7 percent). The three large areas that reported over-the-year percentage increases in employment were Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas (+0.5 percent), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+0.4 percent), and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+0.1 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in May 2010 for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers within a metropolitan area. Twenty-six metropolitan divisions reported over-the-year employment losses while 6 reported gains. The largest over-the-year employment decrease in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (-69,500), followed by Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. (-61,500), Edison-New Brunswick, N.J. (-28,400), and Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-28,200). The largest over-the-year employment increases in the metropolitan divisions were registered in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+10,800), Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+5,600), Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (+2,700), and Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. (+2,400).
The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the metropolitan divisions was reported in Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. (-3.1 percent), followed by Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-2.9 percent), Edison-New Brunswick, N.J. (-2.8 percent), San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. (-2.7 percent), and Newark-Union, N.J.-Pa. (-2.6 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment among the metropolitan divisions were posted in Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass. (+1.2 percent), and Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Mass.-N.H., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+0.4 percent each).
