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Metropolitan area unemployment: the highs and lows, August 2015
October 07, 2015
Unemployment rates were lower in August 2015 than a year earlier in 365 of the 387 metropolitan areas, higher in 16 areas, and unchanged in 6 areas. Eleven areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0 percent and three areas had rates of at least 10.0 percent. Fargo, North Dakota-Minnesota, had the lowest unemployment rate in August, at 2.2 percent. Ames, Iowa; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Lincoln, Nebraska, shared the second lowest unemployment rate in the nation (2.3 percent).
Metropolitan areas with low unemployment rates, August 2015
Area
Unemployment rate
Fargo, ND
2.2
Ames, IA
2.3
Bismarck, ND
2.3
Lincoln, NE
2.3
Iowa City, IA
2.5
Sioux Falls, SD
2.5
Grand Forks, ND
2.8
Madison, WI
2.8
Mankato-North Mankato, MN
2.8
Portsmouth, NH
2.8
Rochester, MN
2.9
Burlington-South Burlington, VT
3.0
Dover-Durham, NH
3.0
Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE
3.0
Amarillo, TX
3.1
Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
3.1
Rapid City, SD
3.1
Sheboygan, WI
3.1
Urban Honolulu, HI
3.1
Boulder, CO
3.2
Yuma, Arizona (26.9 percent), and El Centro, California (23.7 percent), had the highest unemployment rates. Visalia-Porterville, California, had the third highest unemployment rate at 11.0 percent. A total of 189 areas had August unemployment rates below the U.S. figure of 5.2 percent, 184 areas had rates above it, and 14 areas had rates equal to that of the nation.
Metropolitan areas with high unemployment rates, August 2015
Area
Unemployment rate
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
7.9
Fayetteville, NC
8.0
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ
8.0
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
8.1
Grants Pass, OR
8.2
Beckley, WV
8.3
Stockton-Lodi, CA
8.3
Modesto, CA
8.5
Yuba City, CA
8.6
Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ
8.7
Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ
8.7
Madera, CA
8.8
Rocky Mount, NC
8.8
Fresno, CA
8.9
Hanford-Corcoran, CA
9.1
Bakersfield, CA
9.3
Merced, CA
9.7
Visalia-Porterville, CA
11.0
El Centro, CA
23.7
Yuma, AZ
26.9
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and may be revised. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — August 2015" (HTML) (PDF).
United States Department of Labor
