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208 out of 372 metro areas had unemployment rates below U.S. rate of 5.4 percent in December 2014

February 06, 2015

In December 2014, 208 metropolitan areas had unemployment rates below the U.S. rate of 5.4 percent, 155 areas had rates above it, and 9 areas had rates equal to that of the nation. Yuma, Arizona, had the highest unemployment rate, 22.1 percent. Midland, Texas, had the lowest unemployment rate, 2.1 percent.

Fourteen areas had jobless rates of at least 10 percent and 158 areas had rates less than 5 percent in December 2014. Among the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more, Memphis, Tennessee-Mississippi-Arkansas, had the highest unemployment rate, 7.6 percent. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin, had the lowest jobless rate, 3.3 percent.

Unemployment rates were lower in December 2014 than a year earlier in 341 of the 372 areas, higher in 25 areas, and unchanged in 6 areas. Decatur, Illinois, had the largest decrease, 4.9 percentage points. Fifty-one other areas had rate decreases of at least 2.0 percentage points. Alexandria, Louisiana, had the largest rate increase, 1.9 percentage points.

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program. Data for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revision. The data are not seasonally adjusted. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — December 2014" (HTML) (PDF).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 208 out of 372 metro areas had unemployment rates below U.S. rate of 5.4 percent in December 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/208-out-of-372-metro-areas-had-unemployment-rates-below-us-rate-in-december-2014.htm (visited April 20, 2024).

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