Home » Feb. unemployment rates down over the year in 338 of 372 metro areas

Feb. unemployment rates down over the year in 338 of 372 metro areas

Payroll jobs up in 286

WASHINGTON (April 9, 2014) — Unemployment rates were lower in February than a year earlier in 338 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 25 areas, and unchanged in 9 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-nine areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent and 49 areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent. Two hundred eighty-six metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 77 had decreases, and 9 had no change. The national unemployment rate in February was 7.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 8.1 percent a year earlier.

Help-WantedMetropolitan area unemployment (not seasonally adjusted)

Yuma, Ariz., and El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment rates in February, 22.9 percent and 21.0 percent, respectively. Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La., had the lowest rate, 2.8 percent. A total of 200 areas had February unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 7.0 percent, 162 areas had rates above it, and 10 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.

Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, S.C., had the largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease in February (-3.9 percentage points). Thirty-four other areas had rate declines of at least 2.0 percentage points, and an additional 158 areas had declines between 1.0 and 1.9 points. Cape Girardeau- Jackson, Mo.-Ill., and Jefferson City, Mo., had the largest over-the-year jobless rate increases (+1.0 percentage point each).

Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Providence-Fall River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass., had the highest unemployment rate in February, 9.7 percent. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, La., had the lowest rate among the large areas, 4.2 percent. Forty-seven of the large areas had over-the- year unemployment rate decreases and two had increases. The largest rate decline occurred in Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C. (-2.6 percentage points). No large area had a jobless rate increase greater than 0.2 percentage point over the year.

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 February, Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., had the highest jobless rate among the divisions, 10.2 percent. Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md., had the lowest rate, 4.6 percent.

All 34 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year jobless rate decreases in February. The largest of these declines occurred in Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. (-2.3 percentage points). Thirteen other divisions had rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more.

Metropolitan area nonfarm employment (not seasonally adjusted)

In February, 286 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 77 had decreases, and 9 had no change. The largest over-the-year employment increases occurred in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (+117,100), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+112,400), and Dallas- Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+82,800). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Ocean City, N.J. (+9.1 percent), followed by Napa, Calif., and Reno-Sparks, Nev. (+5.4 percent each), and Monroe, Mich. (+5.1 percent).

The largest over-the-year decrease in employment occurred in Dayton, Ohio (-5,400), followed by Pittsburgh, Pa. (-5,200), and Albuquerque, N.M. (-4,500). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Anniston-Oxford, Ala. (-4.3 percent), Danville, Va. (-3.0 percent), and Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J., and Warner Robins, Ga. (-2.8 percent each).

Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 33 of the 38 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2013, decreased in 4, and was unchanged in Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in San Jose-Sunnyvale- Santa Clara, Calif. (+4.4 percent), followed by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas (+3.9 percent), and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (+3.6 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Pittsburgh, Pa. (-0.5 percent), Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. (-0.3 percent), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-0.2 percent).

Metropolitan division nonfarm employment (not seasonally adjusted)

Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in February 2014 for 32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers within a metropolitan area. Twenty-eight of the 32 metropolitan divisions had over-the- year employment gains and 4 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. (+95,900), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (+86,100), and Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+65,300). The over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Camden, N.J. (-5,700), Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-5,100), and Edison-New Brunswick, N.J., and Gary, Ind. (-2,100 each).

The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions occurred in Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla. (+3.3 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas, and San Francisco-San Mateo- Redwood City, Calif. (+3.1 percent each), and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. (+2.9 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Camden, N.J. (-1.1 percent), Gary, Ind. (-0.8 percent), and Detroit- Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-0.7 percent).