For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Wednesday, February 1, 2012 USDL-12-0161
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 -- DECEMBER 2011
Unemployment rates were lower in December than a year earlier in 329 of the 372
metropolitan areas, higher in 36 areas, and unchanged in 7 areas, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Ten areas recorded jobless rates higher than 15.0
percent, while 24 areas registered rates of less than 5.0 percent. Two hundred
thirty-nine metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll
employment, 127 reported decreases, and 6 had no change. The national unemployment
rate in December was 8.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 9.1 percent a
year earlier.
Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In December, 66 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent,
down from 110 areas a year earlier, while 125 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent,
up from 71 areas in December 2010. El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., recorded the
highest unemployment rates in December 2011, 26.8 and 23.1 percent, respectively.
Seven of the other eight areas with jobless rates above 15.0 percent were located in
California. Bismarck, N.D., registered the lowest unemployment rate, 3.2 percent. The
areas with the next lowest rates were Lincoln, Neb., and Fargo, N.D.-Minn., 3.6 and
3.7 percent, respectively. A total of 225 areas recorded December unemployment rates
below the U.S. figure of 8.3 percent, 143 areas reported rates above it, and 4 areas
had rates equal to that of the nation. (See table 1.)
The largest over-the-year unemployment rate decreases in December were registered
in Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-W.Va. (-2.8 percentage points), and Redding, Calif.
(-2.7 points). Twenty-seven other areas recorded rate declines of 2.0 percentage
points or more, and an additional 139 areas had decreases of at least 1.0 point.
Two areas in Washington, Kennewick-Pasco-Richland and Yakima, reported the largest
over-the-year jobless rate increases (+1.8 and +1.4 percentage points, respectively).
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, the
highest unemployment rates in December were registered in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.,
12.7 percent, and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 12.2 percent. Five
additional large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The lowest jobless rates
among the large areas were recorded in Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis.,
and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., 5.5 percent each. Forty-six
of the large areas reported over-the-year unemployment rate decreases, while three
areas registered increases. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., experienced the largest
unemployment rate decline from December 2010 (-2.4 percentage points), followed by
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla., and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla.
(-2.2 points each). The large area with the largest over-the-year jobless rate
increase was Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (+0.6 percentage point).
Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are made up of 34 metropolitan
divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers. In
December 2011, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif., registered the highest
jobless rate among the divisions, 11.6 percent. Framingham, Mass., reported the
lowest division rate, 4.8 percent, closely followed by Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick,
Md., 4.9 percent. (See table 2.)
Thirty of the metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year jobless rate decreases
in December, while three divisions registered increases and one had no change.
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla., posted the largest rate decline from a year earlier
(-2.8 percentage points). Eighteen other divisions reported rate decreases between
1.0 and 1.9 percentage points. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, Ill., experienced the
largest unemployment rate increase from a year earlier (+0.7 percentage point).
In 3 of the 11 metropolitan areas that contain divisions, the ranges between the
highest and lowest division jobless rates were 2.0 percentage points or more in
December. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass.-N.H., recorded the largest rate difference
among its divisions, 5.6 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 10.4
percent, compared with Framingham, Mass., 4.8 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In December, 239 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year increases in nonfarm
payroll employment, 127 reported decreases, and 6 had no change. The largest
over-the-year employment increase occurred in Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
(+75,800), followed by New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa.
(+47,900), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+45,700), and Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (+41,900). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in
employment was reported in Columbus, Ind. (+6.4 percent), followed by Casper, Wyo.
(+5.9 percent), and Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Va. (+5.2 percent).
(See table 3.)
The largest over-the-year decreases in employment occurred in Philadelphia-Camden-
Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (-6,300), New Haven, Conn. (-4,100), and Montgomery,
Ala. (-3,900). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment were
reported in Missoula, Mont. (-6.5 percent), Abilene, Texas (-5.3 percent), and
Dalton, Ga. (-4.9 percent).
Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 32 of the 36 metropolitan areas with
annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2010. The largest over-the-year
percentage increases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas, and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
(+3.0 percent each), and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (+2.5 percent). The
largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio, Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind., and Philadelphia-Camden-
Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. (-0.2 percent each).
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in December 2011 for 32 metropolitan
divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employment centers within a
metropolitan area. Twenty-four of the 32 metropolitan divisions reported over-the-
year employment gains and 8 reported losses. The largest over-the-year increases in
the metropolitan divisions occurred in New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.
(+48,200), Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (+36,900), and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy,
Mass. (+32,100). The largest over-the-year decreases in the metropolitan divisions
were in Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (-9,900), Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md.
(-5,700), and Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. (-4,100). (See table 4.)
The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment among the metropolitan
divisions were reported in Framingham, Mass. (+3.0 percent), Seattle-Bellevue-
Everett, Wash. (+2.7 percent), and Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, Mass.-N.H., and
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (+2.2 percent each). The largest over-the-year
percentage decreases in employment occurred in Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. (-1.2 percent),
Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Md. (-1.0 percent), Nashua, N.H.-Mass. (-0.9 percent),
and Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (-0.8 percent).
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The Regional and State Unemployment 2011 Annual Averages news release is scheduled
to be released on Wednesday, February 29, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The Regional
and State Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2012 is scheduled to
be released on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT). The Metropolitan Area
Employment and Unemployment news release for January 2012 is scheduled to be released
on Friday, March 23, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
__________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Local Area Unemployment Statistics Data |
| |
|Effective with the issuance of the Regional and State Unemployment 2011 |
|Annual Averages news release on Wednesday, February 29, the labor force |
|data for census regions and divisions and all states, the District of |
|Columbia, and the seven modeled substate areas presented in tables 1 and |
|2 of this news release will be revised to incorporate updated inputs, new |
|population controls, and reestimation of models. The new population |
|controls will reflect, for the first time, results from the 2010 Census. |
|Labor force estimates for all other metropolitan areas and metropolitan |
|divisions subsequently will be revised to reflect updated inputs and |
|adjustment to the new statewide estimates. Data back to 2007 are subject |
|to revision, and the revised estimates will be published with the March |
|2012 Regional and State Employment and Unemployment news release on |
|Friday, April 20. |
|__________________________________________________________________________|
__________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Upcoming Changes to Current Employment Statistics Data |
| |
|Effective with the release of January 2012 estimates on Tuesday, March 13,|
|all nonfarm payroll employment estimates for states and areas presented in|
|tables 3 and 4 of this news release will be adjusted to 2011 benchmark |
|levels. Estimates in tables 3 and 4 from April 2010 forward will be |
|subject to revision. |
|__________________________________________________________________________|
