In your region

Metropolitan unemployment figures were encouraging in December

Much like the BLS’s “The Employment Situation – January 2011” report offered proof that the economy was indeed beginning to show signs of growth, the company’s most recent “Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment” report was quite reassuring to organizations, employees, and unemployed Americans as well.

Released on February 1st and depicting employment figures from last December, the report found that unemployment had decreased in 329 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas from December 2010 to December 2011.

The report also revealed that unemployment had remained unchanged on a year-to-year basis in seven areas, while jobless rates had also unfortunately increased in some areas – 36 to be exact. In addition, 66 areas had unemployment rates of 10 percent or higher, while 125 areas had much lower unemployment rates, at seven percent or below.

Additionally, El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., once again led all metropolitan areas in terms of high unemployment, with jobless rates of 26.8 and 23.1 percent, respectively. At the same time, Bismarck, N.D., and Lincoln, Neb., recorded the nation’s lowest unemployment rates, at 3.2 and 3.6 percent, respectively.

Furthermore, the BLS released the following regional employment and inflation statistics from the month of December –

  • Mid–Atlantic: At 10.4 percent, the District of Columbia’s unemployment rate remained above the national average in December, although it had steadily decreased throughout the last five months of 2011. Back in August, it had been as high as 11.1 percent. (Link)
  • Midwest: In Dayton, Ohio, employment rose in various industries, including professional and business services and trade and transportation, just in time for the holiday season. From December 2010 to December 2011, employment increased by 4.8 and 2.9 percent, respectively. (Link)
  • Mountain-Plains: Unemployment was quite low in Salt Lake City, Utah last December. The jobless rate was only 5.4 percent, a significant decrease compared to July’s rate, which was 7.5 percent.  (Link)
  • New England: Although employment hardly increased in most industries within the greater Burlington, Vt., area, employment rose in manufacturing by 2.1 percent and in mining, logging, and construction by 12.8 percent, from December 2010 to December 2011. (Link)
  • New York–New Jersey: The greater New York City area’s Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased from December 2010 to December 2011, by 2.7 and three percent, respectively. (Link)
  • Southeast: In December, Sumter, S.C.’s unemployment rate was approximately two percentage points higher than the national rate. However, at 10.3 percent, the rate was much lower in December than it had been in July, when it was 12.2 percent.  (Link)
  • Southwest: Well known for having one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates, at least in terms of large cities, Las Vegas’s jobless rate gradually decreased throughout the last five months of 2011, from 14.3 percent in August to 12.7 percent in December. (Link)
  • West: The greater Los Angeles area’s CPI-U and CPI-W each increased from December 2010 to December 2011 by 2.2 percent. (Link)