Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In August, 89 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 7.0 percent, up from 19 areas a year earlier, while 34 areas posted rates below 4.0 percent, down from 119 areas in August 2007. El Centro, Calif., and neighboring Yuma, Ariz., continued to record the highest unemployment rates, 24.7 and 22.7 percent, respectively. Joblessness in these two areas is typically higher during summer months due to the effect of extreme heat on agricultural activity. Sioux Falls, S.D., again registered the lowest jobless rate, 2.6 percent. Bismarck, N.D., Morgantown, W.Va., and Rapid City, S.D., reported the next lowest rates, 2.8 percent each. Overall, 152 areas posted unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 6.1 percent, 209 areas reported rates below it, and 8 areas had the same rate.
Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., recorded the largest jobless rate increase from August 2007 (+4.5 percentage points), followed by Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (+3.7 points). Seventy-six additional areas registered over-the- year unemployment rate increases of 2.0 percentage points or more, and another 195 areas had rate increases of 1.0 to 1.9 points. Two Arkansas areas experienced the largest jobless rate decreases from a year earlier: Jonesboro and Hot Springs (-1.4 and -1.1 percentage points, respectively).
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 mil- lion or more, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., reported the highest unemployment rate in August 2008, 9.2 percent, followed by Detroit- Warren-Livonia, Mich., at 8.8 percent. Nine additional large areas posted rates of 7.0 percent or more. The large area with the lowest jobless rate in August was Oklahoma City, Okla., at 3.8 percent. Washington-Arlington- Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., had the next lowest rate, 4.1 percent. Forty-eight large areas registered higher unemployment rates than in August 2007, and one had a lower rate. The areas with the largest jobless rate increases from August 2007 were Providence-Fall River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. (+3.2 percentage points), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (+2.8 points), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (+2.6 points). Nine additional large areas recorded over-the-year unemployment rate increases of 2.0 percentage points or more, and 30 other areas had rate increases of at least 1.0 point. The only large area to record a jobless rate decrease in August 2008 from a year earlier was Oklahoma City, Okla. (-0.4 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 August, Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., again registered the highest division jobless rate, 10.4 percent, followed by Lawrence-Methuen- Salem, Mass.-N.H., at 8.4 percent. Bethesda-Frederick-Gaithersburg, Md., continued to report the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 3.3 percent. Framingham, Mass., posted the next lowest rate, 4.0 percent. In August, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate increases of at least 0.6 percentage point. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., experienced the largest unemployment rate increase (+2.9 percentage points). West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla., registered the next largest increase (+2.4 percentage points). Four additional divisions reported over-the-year rate increases of 2.0 percentage points or more, and 19 others had increases of at least 1.0 percentage point.
In 8 of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges between the highest and lowest division jobless rates were 1.0 percentage point or more in August. Boston-Cambridge Quincy, Mass.-N.H., posted the largest rate difference among its divisions, 4.4 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen- Salem, Mass.-N.H., 8.4 percent, compared with Framingham, Mass., 4.0 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Among the 310 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll data were available in August, 161 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in employment, 142 reported decreases, and 7 had no change. The largest over-the- year employment increase was recorded in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+59,800), followed by Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+53,400), Washington- Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+44,600), and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. (+43,800). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment was reported in Rochester-Dover, N.H.-Maine (+ 4.6 percent), followed by Grand Junction, Colo. (+ 4.4 percent), McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+4.1 percent), and College Station-Bryan, Texas (+ 3.9 percent).
The largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Detroit-Warren- Livonia, Mich. (-58,900), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-43,400), Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-42,300), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-25,200), Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. (-23,400), Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (-21,800), and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (-20,100). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported in Flint, Mich. (-4.9 percent); Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz. (-4.8 percent); Cape Coral- Fort Myers, Fla., and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. (-3.8 percent each); Naples-Marco Island, Fla. (-3.2 percent); Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Fla. (-3.1 percent); and Detroit- Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-3.0 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 18 of the 38 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2007. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were posted in Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. (+2.5 percent), Austin-Round Rock, Texas (+2.4 percent), Virginia Beach-Norfolk- Newport News, Va.-N.C. (+2.2 percent), and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+2.1 percent). Among the large areas, the largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were recorded in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-3.0 percent), Phoenix- Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-2.2 percent), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-2.0 percent), and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (-1.7 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in August 2008 for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers within a metropolitan area. Seventeen of the 32 metropolitan divisions reported over-the-year employment gains while 15 reported losses. The largest over-the- year employment gain in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+44,600), followed by Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (+38,500), Washington- Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+37,700), and New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. (+33,900). Of the 15 metropolitan divisions that reported losses, the largest over-the-year employment decrease occurred in Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.(-33,400), followed by Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. (-26,600), Warren-Troy- Farmington Hills, Mich. (-25,500), and Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-19,400).
The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropoli- tan divisions was reported in Nashua, N.H.-Mass. (+2.8 percent), followed by Seattle- Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (+2.6 percent), Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+2.1 percent), and Tacoma, Wash. (+1.9 percent). Of the metropolitan divisions that reported over- the-year declines in employment, the largest decreases were in Detroit-Livonia- Dearborn, Mich. (-4.3 percent), Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-2.2 percent), Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-1.9 percent), Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. (-1.8 percent), and Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla. (-1.3 percent).
