For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Tuesday, February 2, 2010 USDL-10-0139
Technical information:
Employment: (202) 691-6559 * sminfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/sae
Unemployment: (202) 691-6392 * lausinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/lau
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT -- DECEMBER 2009
Unemployment rates were higher in December than a year earlier in 371 of
the 372 metropolitan areas and lower in 1 area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Nineteen areas recorded jobless rates of at
least 15.0 percent, while 10 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent.
The national unemployment rate in December was 9.7 percent, not sea-
sonally adjusted, up from 7.1 percent a year earlier. Among the 369
metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll employment were available,
356 areas reported over-the-year decreases in employment, 12 reported
increases, and 1 remained unchanged.
Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In December, 138 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least
10.0 percent, up from 42 areas a year earlier, while 68 areas posted
rates below 7.0 percent, down from 205 areas in December 2008. El Centro,
Calif., continued to record the highest unemployment rate, 27.7 percent.
Merced, Calif., registered the next highest rate, 19.8 percent. Among
the 19 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 12 were lo-
cated in California and 3 were in Michigan. Fargo, N.D.-Minn., regis-
tered the lowest unemployment rate in December, 4.0 percent, closely
followed by Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn., and Lincoln, Neb., 4.1 percent
each. Overall, 146 areas recorded unemployment rates above the U.S.
figure of 9.7 percent, 221 areas reported rates below it, and 5 areas
had rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)
Weirton-Steubenville, W.Va.-Ohio, recorded the largest jobless rate in-
crease from December 2008 (+5.9 percentage points). The areas with the
next largest rate increases were Farmington, N.M. (+5.4 percentage
points); Decatur, Ill., and Palm Coast, Fla. (+5.1 points each); and
Casper, Wyo., and Peoria, Ill. (+5.0 points each). One area, Elkhart-
Goshen, Ind., posted an unemployment rate decrease over the year
of 1.2 percentage points to 14.8 percent.
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million
or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest unem-
ployment rate in December, 14.9 percent. The large area with the next
highest rate was Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 14.0 percent.
Seventeen additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more.
The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in December were Oklahoma
City, Okla., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va.,
6.0 and 6.2 percent, respectively. All 49 large areas registered over-
the-year unemployment rate increases of 0.8 percentage point or more.
Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., had the largest jobless rate increase from a
year earlier (+4.4 percentage points), followed by Detroit-Warren-
Livonia, Mich. (+4.3 points).
Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are composed of 34 met-
ropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable em-
ployment centers. In December, the two divisions that comprise the
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area registered the high-
est jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 15.7 percent, and Warren-
Troy-Farmington Hills, 14.3 percent. The division with the next highest
rate was Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.7 percent. Bethesda-
Frederick-Rockville, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among
the divisions, 5.3 percent, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria,
D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.4 percent. These two divisions make up the Wash-
ington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., metropolitan area.
(See table 2.)
In December, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year job-
less rate increases of at least 1.2 percentage points. Warren-Troy-
Farmington Hills, Mich., and Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., exper-
ienced the largest rate increases (+4.4 and +4.3 percentage points,
respectively). Two other areas had rate increases of 4.0 percentage
points or more: Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H. (+4.1 points), and
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (+4.0 points).
In 5 of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges
between the highest and lowest division jobless rates were 2.0 per-
centage points or more in December. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-
N.H., posted the largest rate difference among its divisions, 6.7 per-
centage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 13.7 percent, com-
pared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 7.0 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In December, 356 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year decreases
in nonfarm payroll employment, 12 reported increases, and 1 remained
unchanged. The largest over-the-year employment decrease was recorded
in Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-182,300), followed by
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-164,200), New York-Northern
New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (-150,400), Detroit-Warren-
Livonia, Mich. (-114,500), and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga.
(-105,300). The largest over-the-year percentage losses in employment
were reported in Grand Junction, Colo. (-7.7 percent), Las Vegas-
Paradise, Nev., and Ocean City, N.J. (-7.4 percent each), and Flint,
Mich. (-7.0 percent). (See table 3.)
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in
Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+3,700), Bloomington, Ind., and
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas (+1,800 each), and St. Joseph, Mo.-
Kan. (+1,100). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in
employment were reported in Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+4.0
percent), Bloomington, Ind., and Sandusky, Ohio (+2.2 percent each),
and St. Joseph, Mo.-Kan. (+1.9 percent).
Over-the-year, nonfarm employment declined in all 38 metropolitan
areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2008.
The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these
large metropolitan areas were posted in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.
(-7.4 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich. (-6.2 percent), Milwaukee-
Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. (-5.7 percent), and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale,
Ariz. (-5.0 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in December 2009 for
32 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately identi-
fiable employment centers within a metropolitan area. Thirty-one of
the 32 metropolitan divisions reported over-the-year employment
losses. The largest over-the-year employment decrease in the metro-
politan divisions occurred in Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.
(-163,200), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif.
(-115,300), New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. (-103,500), and
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-82,700). Bethesda-Frederick-
Rockville, Md., was the only metropolitan division with an employment
increase over the year (+3,100), which was a 0.5 percent gain. (See
table 4.)
The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the
metropolitan divisions was reported in Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills,
Mich. (-7.5 percent), followed by San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood
City, Calif. (-4.6 percent), Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill., and
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-4.3 percent each).
_____________
The Regional and State Unemployment, 2009 Annual Averages news release
is scheduled to be released on Friday, February 26, 2010, at 10:00
a.m. (EST). The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news
release for January is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March
10, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Metropolitan Area Employment and
Unemployment news release for January is scheduled to be released on
Friday, March 19, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
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| |
| Upcoming Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of 2009 annual average estimates on |
| February 26, the labor force data for all states, the District |
| of Columbia, and the seven substate modeled areas presented in |
| tables 1 and 2 of this news release will be revised to incor- |
| porate updated inputs, updated population controls, reestima- |
| tion of models, and adjustment to new census division and na- |
| tional control totals. The updated population controls reflect |
| the annual updating of population estimates by the U.S. Census |
| Bureau. Labor force estimates for all other metropolitan areas |
| and metropolitan divisions subsequently will be revised to re- |
| flect updated inputs and the new statewide estimates. Data back |
| to 2005 are subject to revision. |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2010 area data on March 19, |
| the titles of several metropolitan areas and divisions will be |
| changed to reflect updates in Office of Management and Budget |
| Bulletin No. 10-02, issued on December 1, 2009. For specific |
| information on title changes, see the above mentioned bulletin, |
| available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm, or call |
| (202) 691-6392. |
| |
| In addition, on February 26, the Local Area Unemployment Statis- |
| tics program will introduce a long-run trend smoothing procedure |
| to its seasonally adjusted data series back to January 1976. |
| (Seasonally adjusted data are available for states, census re- |
| gions, census divisions, and select major metropolitan areas |
| only.) The smoothing procedure reduces month-to-month volatility |
| in the estimates and addresses long-standing issues related to |
| end-of-year revisions that will enhance the analytical capability |
| of the estimates. For more information about this topic, please |
| see the questions and answers on our Web site at www.bls.gov/lau/ |
| lassaqa.htm. |
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| Upcoming Changes to Current Employment Statistics Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2010 estimates, all nonfarm |
| payroll employment estimates for states and areas presented in |
| tables 3 and 4 of this news release will be adjusted to 2009 |
| benchmark levels. A common start year of 1990 for seasonally ad- |
| justed series also will be implemented with the 2010 benchmark. |
| As a result, seasonally adjusted series will be subject to revi- |
| sion from 1990 forward. Not seasonally adjusted payroll data back |
| to April 2008 also will be subject to revision. |
| |
| In addition, the titles of several metropolitan areas and divi- |
| sions will be changed to reflect updates in the Office of Manage- |
| ment and Budget Bulletin No. 10-02, issued on December 1, 2009. |
| For specific information on title changes, see the above mention- |
| ed bulletin available at www.bls.gov/lau/lausmsa.htm, or call |
| (202) 691-6392. |
| |
| Also, data for Manhattan, Kan.; Mankato-North Mankato, Minn.; and |
| Cape Girardeau-Jackson, Mo.-Ill., metropolitan areas will be added |
| to table 3 of this news release with the publication of January |
| 2010 data. Historical data back to 1990 will be available for |
| these three areas. |
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