July 01, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Metro areas with highest unemployment rates in May 2009

In May, 112 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, up from 6 areas a year earlier.

Metropolitan areas with the highest unemployment rates in May 2009
[Chart data—TXT]

El Centro, California, recorded the highest unemployment rate, 26.8 percent, followed by Yuma, Arizona, at 23.3 percent.

Among the 15 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 7 were located in California, 3 were in Michigan, and 2 were in Indiana.

The national unemployment rate, not seasonally adjusted, was 9.1 percent in May.

The metropolitan area data are also not seasonally adjusted and are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. May 2009 metropolitan area unemployment rates are preliminary and subject to revision. Find out more in "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment: May 2009" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 09-0741.

 

 

Of interest

Spotlight on Statistics: The Recession of 2007–2009

The most recent recession in the United States began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, though many of the statistics that describe the U.S. economy have yet to return to their pre-recession values. In this Spotlight, we present BLS data that compare the recent recession to previous recessions. Read more »