Unemployment rates in 231 of the 389 metropolitan areas in the United States in September were higher year over year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.
The jobless rates were lower in 131 areas, and unchanged in 27 areas, BLS said in a press release.
The press release said that 10 areas had jobless rates of less than 2% and 4 areas had rates of at least 8%. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 64 metropolitan areas, decreased in one area, and was unchanged in 324 areas, it said. The national unemployment rate in September was 3.6%, not seasonally adjusted, up from 3.3% a year earlier.
In September, Bismarck, ND, and Fargo, ND-MN, had the lowest unemployment rates, 1.4% each ((not seasonally adjusted)). El Centro, CA, had the highest rate, 21.1%. A total of 234 areas had September jobless rates, below the U.S. rate of 3.6 percent, 138 areas had rates above it, and 17 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
However, the largest over-the-year unemployment rate increase in September occurred in El Centro, CA (+4.8 percentage points), followed by Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI (+4.6 points). Thirty-five other areas had rate increases of at least 1.0 percentage point. East Stroudsburg, PA, had the largest over-the-year rate decrease in September (-1.5 percentage points), followed by New Bedford, MA, and Pittsfield, MA (-1.4 points each). Eighteen other areas had rate declines of at least 1.0 percentage point, according to BLS.
Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD, had the lowest jobless rate in September, 1.8 percent. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV, had the highest rate, 5.7 percent. Thirty-three large areas had over-the-year unemployment rate increases, 14 had decreases, and 4 had no change. The largest rate increase was in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (+1.3 percentage points). The largest jobless rate decline occurred in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (-1.1 percentage points).
Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 38 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In September, Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL, had the lowest division unemployment rate, 1.5 percent. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA, had the highest rate among the divisions, 5.8 percent.
In September, 21 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate increases, 16 had decreases, and 1 had no change. The largest rate increase occurred in Newark, NJ-PA (+1.9 percentage points). The largest over-the-year jobless rate declines occurred in Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem, MA-NH, and Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, MA (-1.2 percentage points each).
In September, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 64 metropolitan areas, decreased in 1 area, and was essentially unchanged in 324 areas. The largest over-the-year employment increases occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+201,600), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+178,300), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (+143,300). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Charleston-North Charleston, SC (+5.3 percent), followed by Midland, TX (+4.9 percent), and Huntsville, AL (+4.5 percent). The only over-the-year decrease in employment occurred in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI (-4,500, or -6.0 percent),” the report said.
Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 31 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, while employment was essentially unchanged in 20 areas. The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas
occurred in Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+4.3 percent), Jacksonville, FL (+3.9 percent), and Raleigh, NC (+3.7 percent), it added.
In September, nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 16 metropolitan divisions and was essentially unchanged in 22 divisions. The largest over-the-year increases in employment among the metropolitan divisions occurred in New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ (+161,500), Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (+132,800), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA (+95,800).
The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (+4.5 percent), Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+3.9 percent), and Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, PA (+3.3 percent).
Read the full statement here.