Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In October, 152 metropolitan areas reported unemployment rates below 4.0 percent, down from 180 areas a year earlier, while 19 areas posted rates of at least 7.0 percent, up from 9 areas in October 2006. Idaho Falls, Idaho, again had the lowest jobless rate, 1.3 percent, followed by Pocatello, Idaho, at 1.9 percent. The highest rates in October continued to be registered in two adjacent, heavily agricultural areas: El Centro, Calif., 20.3 percent, and Yuma, Ariz., 13.6 percent. Overall, 204 areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 4.4 percent, 148 areas had higher rates, and 17 areas had the same rate.
Rockford, Ill., which experienced numerous layoffs in manufacturing, registered the largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase in October (+4.0 percentage points). The next largest rate increases were posted in El Centro, Calif. (+3.1 points), and two Florida areas, Punta Gorda and Cape Coral-Fort Myers (+2.6 and +2.5 percentage points, respectively). Forty-three additional areas, more than half of which were in California or Florida, recorded jobless rate increases of at least 1.0 percentage point from a year earlier. Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., an area severely affected by Hurricane Katrina, reported the largest over-the-year jobless rate decrease in October (-1.8 percentage points). Eleven additional areas had rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more.
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 millionor more, Birmingham-Hoover, Ala., recorded the lowest unemployment rate inOctober, 2.7 percent, followed by Richmond, Va., at 3.0 percent. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., again posted the highest rate among the large areas, 7.8 percent, followed by Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., at 6.1 percent. Thirty large areas registered higher unemployment rates than in October 2006, 17 had lower rates, and 2 had no changes. Among the large areas, two in California, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario and Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, again reported the largest over-the-year jobless rate increases (+1.4 and +1.3 percentage points, respectively). Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., had the next largest increases (+1.2 percentage points each). New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., recorded the largest unemployment rate decrease from a year earlier (-1.2 percentage points).
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. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Md., and Nashua, N.H.-Mass., reported the lowest division unemployment rates in October, 2.9 percent each. Sixteen additional divisions registered rates below 4.0 percent. The divisions with the highest unemployment rates again were Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., at 9.2 percent; Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich., at 6.8 percent; and Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., at 5.9 percent.
Sixteen of the 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year unemployment rate decreases in October, 16 had rate increases, and 2 had
rates that were unchanged from those of October 2006. The largest rate declines were registered in 6 of the 9 divisions composing the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., metropolitan area: Lawrence-Methuen-Salem (-0.9 percentage point); Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford and Peabody (-0.8 point each); and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, and Taunton-Norton-Raynham (-0.7 point each). Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill., and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla., reported the largest increases (+1.2 percentage points each).
In 3 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 October. The metropolitan area that had the largest rate difference among its divisions, 3.0 percentage points, was Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 5.9 percent, compared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 2.9 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In October, 306 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 54 reported decreases, and 7 had no change. The largest over-the-year employment gain was posted in New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+77,500), followed by Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+64,600), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.(+55,900), and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+52,900). The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was reported in Danville, Va. (+7.5 percent), followed by Billings, Mont. (+6.0 percent), El Centro, Calif., and Jacksonville, N.C. (+5.6 percent each), Provo-Orem, Utah (+5.3 percent), and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+4.9 percent).
The largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-37,800), Flint, Mich. (-4,800), Atlantic City, N.J., and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. (-3,000 each), and Dayton, Ohio, and Rockford, Ill. (-2,800 each). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported in Bay City, Mich., and Flint, Mich. (-3.1 percent each), Anderson, Ind. (-3.0 percent), Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, Mich. (-2.7 percent), and Atlantic City, N.J. (-2.0 percent).
Over-the-year, nonfarm employment rose in 35 of the 37 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2006. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (+3.3 percent), Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. (+2.5 percent), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (+2.3 percent), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+2.2 percent), and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C., and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+2.1 percent). Among the largest areas, two reported decreases in employment: Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-1.9 percent) and Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio (less than 0.1 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in October 2007 for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable
employment centers within a metropolitan area. Twenty-nine of the 32 metropolitan divisions reported over-the-year employment gains while 3 reported losses. The largest over-the-year increase in the metropolitan divisions occurred in New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., (+62,300), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+47,400), Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (+38,200), Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (+37,000), and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+33,500).
The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions was reported in Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash.(+2.7 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+2.3 percent), and Camden, N.J., Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla. (+2.0 percent each). Of the three metropolitan divisions reporting over-the-year employment declines, the largest was in Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-2.2 percent), followed by Detroit Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-1.5 percent) and Nashua, N.H.-Mass. (-0.4 percent).
