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Boston-Cambridge-Nashua has lowest unemployment rate among large metro areas, October 2016

December 08, 2016

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Massachusetts-New Hampshire, had the lowest unemployment rate in October, 2.6 percent. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin; and Austin-Round Rock, Texas also had jobless rates of 3.2 percent or lower in October.

Unemployment rates for large metropolitan areas, October 2016, not seasonally adjusted
Area Unemployment rate (percent of labor force)
October 2015 October 2016

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

4.1 2.6

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

3.0 2.9

Salt Lake City, UT

3.1 3.0

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

2.9 3.1

Austin-Round Rock, TX

3.3 3.2

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

4.0 3.6

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

4.0 3.6

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

3.8 3.7

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

4.3 3.8

Columbus, OH

3.8 3.9

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

4.3 3.9

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

4.1 3.9

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

4.1 3.9

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

4.2 3.9

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

4.5 4.0

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

4.1 4.1

Kansas City, MO-KS

4.0 4.1

Raleigh, NC

4.6 4.1

Richmond, VA

4.1 4.2

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

5.0 4.2

Oklahoma City, OK

3.6 4.3

St. Louis, MO-IL

4.4 4.3

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

5.1 4.4

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

5.1 4.4

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

5.2 4.5

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

5.0 4.5

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

4.7 4.5

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

5.1 4.5

Rochester, NY

4.5 4.6

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

4.5 4.6

Jacksonville, FL

4.8 4.7

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

4.9 4.7

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

4.8 4.7

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

5.6 4.8

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

5.1 4.8

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

5.3 4.9

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

4.9 4.9

Cleveland-Elyria, OH

3.8 5.0

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

4.7 5.0

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

4.7 5.1

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

5.3 5.1

Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

4.7 5.1

Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

5.6 5.2

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

6.1 5.4

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

6.1 5.4

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

5.6 5.4

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

5.3 5.5

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

6.4 5.5

Pittsburgh, PA

4.5 5.5

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

5.3 5.7

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

6.4 6.1

Note: Data for the most recent month are prelininary.

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, had the highest rate among the large metropolitan areas, 6.1 percent. Rates of 5.5 percent or higher were also recorded in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois-Indiana-Wisconsin; Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama.

From October 2015 to October 2016, unemployment rate decreases occurred in 35 large metropolitan areas, 14 areas had over-the-year increases, and 2 had no change. The largest rate decrease occurred in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Massachusetts-New Hampshire (−1.5 percentage points). The largest over-the-year rate increase was in Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio (+1.2 percentage points).

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. See "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — October 2016" (HTML) (PDF) to learn more.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Boston-Cambridge-Nashua has lowest unemployment rate among large metro areas, October 2016 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/boston-cambridge-nashua-has-lowest-unemployment-rate-among-large-metro-areas-october-2016.htm (visited October 14, 2024).

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