For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Wednesday, October 28, 2009 USDL-09-1301
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 -- SEPTEMBER 2009
Unemployment rates were higher in September 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. Thirteen areas recorded jobless rates of at
least 15.0 percent, while 12 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent. The
national unemployment rate in September was 9.5 percent, not seasonally ad-
justed, up from 6.0 percent a year earlier. Among the 369 metropolitan areas
for which nonfarm payroll employment data were available, 359 areas reported
over-the-year decreases in employment, and 10 reported increases.
Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In September, 117 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0
percent, up from 10 areas a year earlier, while 70 areas posted rates below
7.0 percent, down from 291 areas in September 2008. El Centro, Calif., and
Yuma, Ariz., recorded the highest unemployment rates, 30.1 and 24.2 percent,
respectively. These two adjacent areas are highly agricultural and experience
extreme heat during summer months. Among the 13 areas with jobless rates of
at least 15.0 percent, 5 were located in California and 3 were in Michigan.
Bismarck, N.D., registered the lowest unemployment rate in September, 2.9
percent, followed by Fargo, N.D.-Minn., 3.7 percent, and Grand Forks, N.D.-
Minn., 3.8 percent. Overall, 133 areas recorded unemployment rates above the
U.S. figure of 9.5 percent, 232 areas reported rates below it, and 7 areas
had the same rate. (See table 1.)
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., recorded the largest jobless rate increase from
September 2008 (+8.4 percentage points), followed by Muskegon-Norton Shores,
Mich. (+6.8 points). An additional 5 areas registered unemployment rate in-
creases of 6.0 percentage points or more, and another 34 areas had increases
of 5.0 to 5.9 points. Three areas reported rate increases of less than a full
percentage point: Manhattan, Kan. (+0.4 point), Bismarck, N.D. (+0.5 point),
and Grand Forks, N.D.-Minn. (+0.6 point). Only one area experienced an over-
the-year jobless rate decrease, Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La. (-1.4 per-
centage points), which had been impacted by Hurricane Gustav in September 2008.
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or
more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest unemployment rate
in September, 17.3 percent. The large areas with the next highest rates were
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 14.2 percent, and Las Vegas-Para-
dise, Nev., 13.9 percent. Sixteen additional large areas posted rates of 10.0
percent or more. The large areas with the lowest jobless rates in September
were Oklahoma City, Okla., 5.9 percent; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-
Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.2 percent; and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C.,
6.7 percent. All 49 large areas registered over-the-year unemployment rate in-
creases of at least 1.6 percentage points. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., had
the largest jobless rate increase from a year earlier (+8.4 percentage points).
The next largest rate increase occurred in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (+6.2 per-
centage points). Five other large areas recorded over-the-year rate increases
of 5.0 percentage points or more.
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. In
September, the two divisions that comprise the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.,
metropolitan area registered the highest jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dear-
born, 18.3 percent, and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 16.6 percent. The division
with the next highest rate was Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 14.1 percent.
Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, Md., reported the lowest unemployment rate among
the divisions, 5.5 percent, followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-
Va.-Md.-W.Va., 6.4 percent. (See table 2.)
In September, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate
increases of at least 2.1 percentage points. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich.,
and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich., experienced the largest rate increases (+8.7
and +8.0 percentage points, respectively). Two additional divisions reported over-
the-year rate increases of 5.0 percentage points or more.
In 4 of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges between the
highest and lowest division jobless rates were 2.0 percentage points or more in
September. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., posted the largest rate differ-
ence among its divisions, 6.6 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-
N.H., 14.1 percent, compared with Nashua, N.H.-Mass., 7.5 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In September, 359 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year decreases in nonfarm
payroll employment and 10 reported increases. The largest over-the-year employ-
ment decrease was recorded in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-220,000),
followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (-216,400),
and Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-207,800). The largest over-the-
year percentage losses in employment were reported in Kokomo, Ind. (-8.5 percent),
Dalton, Ga. (-8.4 percent), and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., Holland-Grand Haven, Mich.,
and Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-8.0 percent each). (See table 3.)
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in McAllen-Edinburg-
Mission, Texas (+3,100), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+2,900), and Sandusky,
Ohio (+1,300). The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were
reported in Sandusky, Ohio (+3.3 percent), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. (+3.0
percent), Hot Springs, Ark. (+1.6 percent), and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
(+1.4 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment declined in all 38 metropolitan areas with an-
nual 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 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-8.0 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.
(-7.8 percent), and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. (-6.2 percent).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in September 2009 for 32 metropol-
itan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers
within a metropolitan area. Thirty-one of the 32 metropolitan divisions reported
over-the-year employment losses. The largest over-the-year decrease in the metro-
politan divisions occurred in Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (-188,200), followed
by Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (-164,200), New York-White Plains-Wayne,
N.Y.-N.J. (-145,900), and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-106,500). Bethesda-
Frederick-Rockville, Md., was the only metropolitan division where employment in-
creased over the year (+5,700, or 1 percent). (See table 4.)
The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the metropolitan
divisions was reported in Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-9.4 percent), fol-
lowed by Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-5.5 percent), Seattle-Bellevue-Everett,
Wash. (-5.2 percent), Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (-4.9 percent), and San
Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif. (-4.8 percent).
_____________
Regional and State Employment and Unemployment data for October are scheduled to
be released on Friday, November 20, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). Metropolitan Area
Employment and Unemployment data for October are scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, December 2, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).
