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47 out of 51 largest metropolitan areas had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases

December 05, 2017

Of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, 47 areas had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases and 4 had increases. The largest rate decrease occurred in Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama (−2.7 percentage points). The largest over-the-year rate increase was in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Massachusetts-New Hampshire NECTA (+0.4 percentage point).

Over-the-year change in unemployment rates for areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, October 2017
Metropolitan area Over-the-year change(p) October 2016 unemployment rate October 2017 unemployment rate(p)

Birmingham-Hoover, AL

-2.7 percentage point(s) 5.9% 3.2%

Memphis, TN-MS-AR

-1.8 5.5% 3.7%

Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN

-1.6 3.9% 2.3%

St. Louis, MO-IL

-1.6 4.3% 2.7%

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

-1.5 5.7% 4.2%

Jacksonville, FL

-1.4 4.7% 3.3%

Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

-1.4 4.7% 3.3%

New Orleans-Metairie, LA

-1.3 5.4% 4.1%

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

-1.3 4.5% 3.2%

Pittsburgh, PA

-1.3 5.4% 4.1%

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX

-1.2 5.3% 4.1%

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

-1.2 5.1% 3.9%

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

-1.1 5.2% 4.1%

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

-1.1 5.9% 4.8%

Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

-1.0 4.2% 3.2%

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

-1.0 3.3% 2.3%

Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA

-1.0 5.1% 4.1%

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

-1.0 4.7% 3.7%

Kansas City, MO-KS

-0.9 4.1% 3.2%

San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

-0.9 3.8% 2.9%

San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

-0.9 3.9% 3.0%

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

-0.8 5.5% 4.7%

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

-0.8 3.8% 3.0%

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

-0.8 4.9% 4.1%

San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA

-0.8 3.8% 3.0%

Austin-Round Rock, TX

-0.7 3.3% 2.6%

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

-0.7 4.6% 3.9%

Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ

-0.7 4.4% 3.7%

Raleigh, NC

-0.7 4.3% 3.6%

Oklahoma City, OK

-0.6 4.2% 3.6%

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

-0.6 5.0% 4.4%

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

-0.6 4.5% 3.9%

Providence-Warwick, RI-MA NECTA

-0.6 4.4% 3.8%

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

-0.5 4.5% 4.0%

Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

-0.4 4.3% 3.9%

Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

-0.4 3.6% 3.2%

Richmond, VA

-0.4 4.1% 3.7%

Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

-0.3 4.3% 4.0%

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

-0.3 3.9% 3.6%

Columbus, OH

-0.2 3.9% 3.7%

Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV

-0.2 5.3% 5.1%

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

-0.2 3.9% 3.7%

Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

-0.1 4.9% 4.8%

Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

-0.1 4.1% 4.0%

Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

-0.1 2.7% 2.6%

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

-0.1 4.7% 4.6%

Salt Lake City, UT

-0.1 2.9% 2.8%

Cleveland-Elyria, OH

0.1 5.1% 5.2%

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT NECTA

0.1 4.2% 4.3%

Rochester, NY

0.1 4.5% 4.6%

Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH NECTA

0.4 2.7% 3.1%
Footnotes:

 

(p) = preliminary.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin, and Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, Tennessee, had the lowest unemployment rate in October, 2.3 percent each. Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, had the highest jobless rate among the large areas, 5.2 percent.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for the most recent month are preliminary. Areas in the six New England states are Metropolitan New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs), while areas in other states are county-based. To learn more, see “Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — October 2017” (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 47 out of 51 largest metropolitan areas had over-the-year unemployment rate decreases at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/47-out-of-51-largest-metropolitan-areas-had-over-the-year-unemployment-rate-decreases.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

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