In October, 102 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, down from 129 areas a year earlier, while 78 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent, up from 74 areas in October 2009. El Centro, Calif., again recorded the highest unemployment rate, 29.3 percent, followed by Yuma, Ariz., 26.7 percent. Among the 10 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 8 were located in California. Bismarck, N.D., again registered the lowest unemployment rate, 2.7 percent in October. The areas with the next lowest rates were Fargo, N.D.-Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn., 3.2 percent each, and Lincoln, Neb., 3.8 percent. Of the 12 areas with jobless rates under 5.0 percent, 10 were located in the West North Central census division. Overall, 224 areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 9.0 percent, 138 areas reported rates above it, and 10 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., and Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C., recorded the largest over-the-year jobless rate decreases in October (-2.8 percentage points each), closely followed by Anderson, S.C., and Spartanburg, S.C. (-2.7 and -2.6 points, respectively). Thirteen additional areas reported rate decreases of at least 2.0 percentage points. Yuma, Ariz., registered the largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase (+4.1 percentage points). The metropolitan area with the next largest rate increase was Sioux City, Iowa-Neb.-S.D. (+1.8 percentage points).
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., registered the highest unemployment rates in October, 14.2 and 14.1 percent, respectively. Twelve additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The lowest jobless rate among the large areas was recorded by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 5.8 percent. Thirty-three of the large areas reported over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, while 13 areas recorded rate increases and 3 had no rate change. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., posted the largest jobless rate decrease over the year (-2.4 percentage points).Six other large areas recorded rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more, with the largest of these declines occurring in Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C. (-1.8 points). New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., experienced the largest unemployment rate increase from October 2009 (+1.2 percentage points), followed by Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (+1.0 point).
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 October, Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., registered the highest jobless rate among the divisions, 14.4 percent. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., had the next highest rate, 13.1 percent. Nashua, N.H.-Mass., and Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rates among the divisions, 5.2 and 5.4 percent, respectively.
In October, 29 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate decreases, and 5 divisions reported rate increases. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich., posted the largest rate decreases from October 2009 (-2.4 percentage points each). Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., experienced the largest unemployment rate increase among divisions (+1.3 percentage 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 October. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., recorded the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.0 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 11.2 percent, compared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 5.2 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In October, 182 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 178 reported decreases, and 12 had no change. The largest over-the-year employment increase occurred in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+43,700); followed by Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+24,800 each); Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (+24,300); and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (+21,300).The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Manhattan, Kan. (+8.0 percent), followed by Kokomo, Ind. (+5.3 percent), Kennewick-Pasco Richland, Wash. (+4.8 percent), Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, S.C. (+4.6 percent), Elizabethtown, Ky. (+4.4 percent), and St. Joseph, Mo.-Kan. (+4.2 percent).
The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-62,100), followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-33,000), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-32,600), and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-25,100). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported in Yuba City, Calif. (-4.4 percent); Holland-Grand Haven, Mich., and Monroe, Mich. (-3.9 percent each); and Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. (-3.8 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 20 of the 36 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2009. The large area that reported the biggest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas (+2.4 percent), followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+1.5 percent), Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. (+1.4 percent), and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (+1.3 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-3.1 percent), Sacramento-Arden-Arcade--Roseville, Calif. (-2.7 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-1.9 percent), and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, Calif. (-1.7 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in October 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 increases in the metropolitan divisions were registered in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+32,400), Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas
(+16,600), Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. (+14,200), and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass. (+13,200). The largest over-the-year decrease in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.(-45,000), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (-31,400), and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-23,800).
The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment among the metropolitan divisions were posted in Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. (+2.0 percent); Nashua, N.H.-Mass., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+1.4 percent each); and Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass. (+1.2 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the metropolitan divisions was reported in Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. (-4.0 percent),followed by Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-2.3 percent), Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, Calif. (-2.0 percent), and Camden, N.J. (-1.9 percent).
