Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, November 3, 2021 			       USDL-21-1928

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 2021


Unemployment rates were lower in September than a year earlier in 386 of the 389 metropolitan
areas, higher in 2 areas, and unchanged in 1 area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. A total of 88 areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0 percent and 2 areas had rates
of at least 10.0 percent. Nonfarm payroll employment increased over the year in 90 metropolitan
areas and was essentially unchanged in 299 areas. The national unemployment rate in September
was 4.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 7.7 percent a year earlier.

This news release presents statistics from two monthly programs. The civilian labor force
and unemployment data are based on the same concepts and definitions as those used for the
national household survey estimates. These data pertain to individuals by where they reside.
The employment data are from an establishment survey that measures nonfarm employment, hours,
and earnings by industry. These data pertain to jobs on payrolls defined by where the
establishments are located. For more information about the concepts and statistical methodologies
used by these two programs, see the Technical Note.

Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In September, Logan, UT-ID, and Lincoln, NE, had the lowest unemployment rates, 1.2 percent and
1.3 percent, respectively. El Centro, CA, had the highest rate, 18.1 percent. A total of 251 areas
had September jobless rates below the U.S. rate of 4.6 percent, 125 areas had rates above it,
and 13 areas had rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)

The largest over-the-year unemployment rate decrease in September occurred in Kahului-Wailuku-
Lahaina, HI (-15.9 percentage points). Rates fell over the year by at least 5.0 percentage points
in an additional 10 areas. No area had an unemployment rate increase greater than 0.1 percentage
point.

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, Salt Lake City,
UT, and Oklahoma City, OK, had the lowest jobless rates in September, 1.7 percent and 1.9 percent,
respectively. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, had the
highest unemployment rates, 7.4 percent each. All 51 large areas had over-the-year unemployment
rate decreases. The largest jobless rate decline was in Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV (-8.0 
percentage points). The smallest over-the-year rate decrease occurred in Baltimore-Columbia-Towson,
MD (-1.3 percentage points).

Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 38 metropolitan divisions, which
are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In September, Warren-Troy-Farmington
Hills, MI, had the lowest division unemployment rate, 2.4 percent, followed by Nashua, NH-MA,
2.6 percent. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA, had the highest rate among the divisions, 8.2
percent. (See table 2.)

In September, all 38 metropolitan divisions had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases.
Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, MI, had the largest rate decline (-9.1 percentage points). The smallest
rate decrease occurred in Camden, NJ (-1.1 percentage points).

Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In September, 90 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment
and 299 were essentially unchanged. The largest over-the-year employment increases occurred in
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (+364,100), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (+260,600),
and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (+196,700). The largest over-the-year percentage gains in
employment occurred in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI (+23.9 percent), Urban Honolulu, HI (+12.7
percent), and Ocean City, NJ (+11.2 percent). (See table 3.)

Over the year, nonfarm employment increased in 46 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population
of 1 million or more, while employment was essentially unchanged in 5 areas. The largest over-the-
year percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Las Vegas-
Henderson-Paradise, NV (+8.0 percent), Austin-Round Rock, TX (+7.4 percent), and Orlando-Kissimmee-
Sanford, FL (+7.0 percent).   

Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

In September, nonfarm payroll employment increased in 25 metropolitan divisions and was essentially
unchanged in 13 divisions over the year. The largest over-the-year increase in employment among the
metropolitan divisions occurred in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA (+254,600), followed by New
York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ (+221,800), and Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX (+140,000). (See table
4.)

The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment occurred in Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine,
CA (+7.4 percent), San Rafael, CA (+7.0 percent), and San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco,
CA (+6.6 percent). 

_____________
The State Employment and Unemployment news release for October is scheduled to be released on Friday,
November 19, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment news release
for October is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 2, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).
 
 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
|												    |
|                   Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Impact on September 2021			    |
|                            Establishment and Household Survey Data				    |
|												    |
| Data collection for both surveys was affected by the pandemic. In the establishment survey,	    |
| more data continued to be collected by web than in months prior to the pandemic. In the	    |
| household survey, for the safety of both interviewers and respondents, in-person interviews	    |
| were conducted only when telephone interviews could not be done.				    |
|												    |
| For information on the modifications made to the Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimation   |
| and methodological procedures due to the impact of COVID-19, see 				    |
| www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm.								    |
|												    |
| For the September 2021 estimates of household employment and unemployment from the Local Area	    |
| Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, BLS continued to implement level-shift outliers in	    |
| the employment and/or unemployment inputs to the state models, based on statistical evaluation    |
| of movements in each area's inputs. These level shifts preserved movements in the published	    |
| estimates that the models otherwise would have discounted, without requiring changes to how	    |
| the models create estimates at other points in the time series.				    |
|												    |
| The "Frequently asked questions" document at 							    |
| www.bls.gov/covid19/employment-situation-covid19-faq-september-2021.htm extensively discusses	    |
| the impact of a misclassification in the household survey on the national estimates for	    |
| September 2021. Despite the considerable decline in its degree relative to prior months, this	    |
| misclassification continued to be widespread geographically, which in turn affected the official  |
| LAUS estimates for September 2021.								    |
|												    |
| Household data for substate areas are controlled to the employment and unemployment totals for    |
| their respective model-based areas. Hence, the preliminary September and revised August 	    |
| estimates for substate areas reflect the use of level-shift outliers, where implemented, in	    |
| the inputs for their model-based control areas. The substate area estimates also were impacted    |
| by misclassification in the household survey, in proportion to the impacts of the 		    |
| misclassifications on the data for their model-based control areas.				    |
|												    |
| Household data for Puerto Rico are not modeled, but rather are derived from a monthly household   |
| survey similar to the Current Population Survey. The Puerto Rico Department of Labor has 	    |
| reported a misclassification in its household survey similar in nature to the misclassification   |
| in the Current Population Survey, which has affected the local area data proportionally.	    |
|___________________________________________________________________________________________________|