In February 138 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, down from 188 areas a year earlier, while 49 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent, up from 42 areas in February 2010. El Centro, Calif., recorded the highest unemployment rate, 26.9 percent in February 2011. Three other areas had rates above 20.0 percent. Among the 15 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 12 were located in California. Lincoln, Neb., registered the lowest unemployment rate, 4.2 percent. The next lowest rates were posted in Bismarck, N.D., 4.6 percent; and Ames, Iowa; Fargo, N.D.-Minn.; and Iowa City, Iowa, 4.7 percent each. All of these areas are located in the West North Central census division. A total of 208 areas recorded February unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 9.5 percent, 159 areas reported rates above it, and 5 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., registered the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease in February (-4.7 percentage points), followed by Muskegon-Norton Shores, Mich., and Rockford, Ill. (-4.2 points each). Forty-eight additional areas recorded rate decreases of at least 2.0 percentage points from a year earlier. El Centro, Calif., reported the largest over-the-year jobless rate increase (+1.8 percentage points). Seven additional areas had rate increases of 1.0 percentage point or more.
In the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, the highest unemployment rates in February were registered in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 13.9 percent, and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., 13.7 percent. Fifteen additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The lowest jobless rates among the large areas were recorded in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., and Oklahoma City, Okla., 5.9 and 6.2 percent, respectively. Forty-five of the large areas reported over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, while four areas registered rate increases. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., experienced the largest unemployment rate decrease from February 2010 (-3.4 percentage points), followed by Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C., and Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-2.2 points each). Fourteen other large areas reported rate decreases of at least 1.0 percentage point. The only large area with an over-the-year jobless rate increase of 1.0 percentage point or more was New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La.(+1.2 points).
Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 34 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In February 2011, Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., and Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., registered the highest jobless rates among the divisions, 12.7 percent each. Bethesda-Rockville- Frederick, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 5.4 percent.
All but one of the metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate decreases in February. The two divisions that make up the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area posted the largest rate decreases from a year earlier: Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills (-3.3 percentage points) and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn (-3.2 points). Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., experienced the only over-the-year unemployment rate increase among divisions (+0.6 percentage point).
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 February. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., recorded the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.6 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 12.7 percent, compared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 6.1 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In February 284 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 77 reported decreases, and 11 were unchanged. The largest over-the-year employment increase occurred in Washington-Arligton-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+74,600), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+65,000), Los Angeles-
Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (+56,500), Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+50,700), and New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.- N.J.-Pa. (+42,000). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Sandusky, Ohio (+9.6 percent), followed by Kokomo, Ind. (+7.1 percent), and Elizabethtown, Ky., and Ocean City,
N.J. (+5.6 percent each).
The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif. (-13,600), followed by Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. (-5,600), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (-5,200), Las Vegas- Paradise, Nev. (-5,100), and Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (-4,900). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Yuma, Ariz. (-3.7 percent), followed by Missoula, Mont. (-3.5 percent), Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla. (-2.5 percent), and Pine Bluff, Ark., and Terre Haute, Ind. (-2.4 percent each).
Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 31 of the 36 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2010. The large area with the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.- Md.-W.Va. (+2.6 percent), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (+2.3 percent each), and Pittsburgh, Pa. (+2.2 percent). The large area with the largest over- the-year percentage decrease in employment was Sacramento-Arden- Arcade-Roseville, Calif. (-1.7 percent), followed by Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-0.6 percent), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (-0.5 percent), and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-0.4 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in February for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers within a metropolitan area. Twenty-five of the 32 metropolitan divisions reported over-the-year employment gains, while 7 reported losses. The largest over-the-year employment increase in the metropolitan divisions was registered in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+56,900), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+54,100), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.(+40,200), and Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill. (+39,400). The largest over-the-year employment decrease in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Newark-Union, N.J.-Pa. (-7,500), followed by Camden, N.J.(-5,700), Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-800), and Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, Mass.-N.H., and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla. (-700 each).
The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions was posted in Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. (+3.3 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+2.7 percent), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+2.4 percent), and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash., and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (+1.6 percent each). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the metropolitan divisions was reported in Camden, N.J. (-1.1 percent), followed by Newark-Union, N.J.-Pa. (-0.8 percent), Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, Mass.-N.H. (-0.6 percent), and Peabody, Mass. (-0.4 percent).
