Unemployment rates were lower in November 2006 than a year earlier in 279 of the 367 metropolitan areas, higher in 54 areas, and unchanged in 34 areas, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported January 3. Forty-two metropolitan areas registered jobless rates below 3.0 percent, while two areas recorded rates of at least 10.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in November was 4.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 4.8 percent a year earlier.
Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In November, 150 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below 4.0 percent, up from 111 areas a year earlier, while 20 areas posted rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 29 areas in November 2005. Fargo, N.D.-Minn., had the lowest unemployment rate, 1.7 percent, followed by Logan, Utah-Idaho, 2.0 percent. El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz. – two adjacent, highly agricultural areas – registered the highest jobless rates, 16.2 and 13.3 percent, respectively. Visalia-Porterville, Calif., had the next highest rate, 8.4 percent. Overall, 195 areas reported unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 4.3 percent, 160 areas had higher rates, and 12 areas had the same rate.
Seven areas severely affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 recorded the largest over-the-year jobless rate decreases: New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. (-12.3 percentage points), Lake Charles, La. (-11.4 points), Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss. (-10.9 points), Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La. (-7.3 points), Pascagoula, Miss. (-6.9 points), Baton Rouge, La. (-5.9 points), and Lafayette, La. (-4.9 points). Thirty-five additional areas had rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more. Fort Smith, Ark.-Okla., registered the largest unemployment rate increase from November 2005 (+2.8 percentage points). The areas with the next largest rate increases were Jackson, Mich. (+0.9 percentage point), and Flint, Mich., and Pine Bluff, Ark. (+0.8 point each).
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, those recording the lowest jobless rates in November were Birmingham-Hoover, Ala., 2.8 percent, Richmond, Va., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 3.0 percent each, and Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla., 3.1 percent. The large areas with the highest rates were Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., 6.8 percent, and Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark., 5.6 percent. Forty-four large areas reported lower unemployment rates than in November 2005, two registered higher rates, and three had no change.
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., posted the largest over-the-year jobless rate decrease (-12.3 percentage points). The areas with the next largest rate decreases were Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-1.5 percentage points), Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (-1.1 points), and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. (-1.0 point). No large area recorded an over-the-year rate increase of more than 0.3 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. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Md., reported the lowest division unemployment rate in November, 2.9 percent. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., had the next lowest rates, 3.0 percent each. Eleven additional divisions registered rates below 4.0 percent. The divisions with the highest unemployment rates again were Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., 8.0 percent, and Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 7.0 percent.
Twenty-nine of the 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year unemployment rate decreases in November, two had rate increases and three had rates that were unchanged from those of November 2005. The three most populous divisions registered the largest jobless rate declines over the year: Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (-1.6 percentage points), New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. (-1.2 points), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (-1.1 points). November was the eighth straight month that Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill., posted the largest over-the-year rate decline. No division recorded an over-the-year jobless rate increase of more than 0.2 percentage point.
In three of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges between the highest and lowest division unemployment rates were 1.0 percentage point or more in November. The metropolitan areas that had the widest rate ranges between their divisions were Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H. (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 7.0 percent, compared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 3.5 percent), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 8.0 percent, compared with Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 5.9 percent).
Metropolitan Area Non-farm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In November, 301 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in non-farm payroll employment, 60 reported decreases and six had no change.
The largest over-the-year employment gain was posted in Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (+90,700), followed by Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+75,000), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+66,200), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+65,100), and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, Fla. (+51,200). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were reported in New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La. (+10.2 percent), St. George, Utah (+8.1 percent), Hot Springs, Ark. (+7.8 percent), and Prescott, Ariz. (+7.3 percent).
The largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-26,400), St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (-3,300), Flint, Mich. (-3,100), and Dayton, Ohio, and Fort Smith, Ark.-Okla. (-2,500 each). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported in Danville, Va. (-4.8 percent), Gadsden, Ala. (-4.0 percent), Jackson, Mich. (-2.6 percent), and Mansfield, Ohio (-2.4 percent).
Over-the-year, non-farm employment rose in 33 of the 36 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2005. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (+4.9 percent each), Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla. (+3.7 percent), and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas (+3.1 percent). Among the largest areas, the only reported decreases in employment were in Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-1.3 percent) and Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio, and St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (-0.2 percent each).
Metropolitan Division Non-farm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in November 2006 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, one reported no change and two reported losses. The largest over-the-year increases in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. (+55,800), Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+49,100), and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (+42,000).
The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment among the metropolitan divisions were reported in West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla. (+3.7 percent), Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla., and Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (+2.7 percent each), and Tacoma, Wash. (+2.6 percent). Over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were reported in Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-1.4 percent) and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (- 1.1 percent).