National

October 2013 Jobless Rates Down Over the Year in 280 of 372 Metro Areas; Payroll Jobs Up in 288


Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—December 5, 2013. Unemployment rates were lower in October than a year earlier in 280 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 79 areas, and unchanged in 13 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-three areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, and 57 areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent. Two hundred eighty-eight metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 75 had decreases, and 9 had no change. The national unemployment rate in October was 7.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 7.5 percent a year earlier.

Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Yuma, Ariz., and El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment rates in October, 31.9 percent and 25.2 percent, respectively. Bismarck, N.D., had the lowest rate, 1.7 percent. A total of 214 areas had October unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 7.0 percent, 144 areas had rates above it, and 14 areas had rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)

El Centro, Calif., had the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease in October (-4.3 percentage points). Nine other areas had rate declines of at least 2.0 percentage points, and an additional 95 areas had declines between 1.0 and 1.9 points. Yuma, Ariz., had the largest over-the-year jobless rate increase (+2.3 percentage points). Thirteen other areas had unemployment rate increases of 1.0 percentage point or more.

Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., had the highest unemployment rate in October, 9.8 percent. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis., had the lowest rate among the large areas, 4.1 percent. Thirty-seven of the large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, 10 had increases, and 2 had no change. The largest rate decline occurred in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-1.9 percentage points). Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark., had the largest jobless rate increase over the year (+0.9 percentage 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, Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., had the highest jobless rate among the divisions, 10.9 percent. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif., had the lowest unemployment rate, 5.1 percent. (See table 2.)

Twenty-four metropolitan divisions had over-the-year jobless rate decreases in October, while 10 had increases. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla., had the largest rate decline from a year earlier (-1.7 percentage points), followed by Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla. (-1.6 points).

Ten other divisions had rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., had the largest unemployment rate increases over the year (+0.6 percentage point each).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In October, 288 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 75 had decreases, and 9 had no change. The largest over-the-year employment increases occurred in New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+141,800), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+96,100), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (+84,700). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Naples-Marco Island, Fla. (+7.6 percent), followed by Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla. (+6.7 percent), and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla. (+6.0 percent). (See table 3.)

The largest over-the-year decrease in employment occurred in Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio (-7,700), followed by Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y. (-4,400), and Peoria, Ill. (-4,100). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Decatur, Ill. (-4.3 percent), Manhattan, Kan. (-3.5 percent), and Palm Coast, Fla. (-3.4 percent).

Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 36 of the 37 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2012. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (+3.4 percent), followed by Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C. (+3.3 percent), and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+3.1 percent). The only large area that had an over-the-year percentage decrease in employment was Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio (-0.8 percent).

Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in October 2013 for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers within a metropolitan area. Thirty of the 32 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year employment gains and 2 had losses. The largest over-the-year increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions occurred in New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. (+90,300), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+64,000), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (+56,600). The only over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Gary, Ind. (-2,800), and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-1,300). (See table 4.)

The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions occurred in Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+3.5 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+3.0 percent), and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass. (+2.7 percent). The only over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Gary, Ind. (-1.0 percent), and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-0.2 percent).

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The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release for November is scheduled to be released on Friday, December 20, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release for November is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, January 7, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Technical Note

Table 1. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state and metropolitan area

Table 2. Civilian labor force and unemployment by state, selected metropolitan area, and metropolitan division (1)

Table 3. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state and metropolitan area

Table 4. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by state, selected metropolitan area, and metropolitan division

Source: bls.gov

 


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