Technical information:
Employment: (202) 691-6559 USDL 09-0741
http://www.bls.gov/sae/
Unemployment: (202) 691-6392
http://www.bls.gov/lau/ For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT)
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Tuesday, June 30, 2009
METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: MAY 2009
Unemployment rates were higher in May than a year earlier in all
372 metropolitan areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S.
Department of Labor reported today. Fifteen areas recorded jobless
rates of at least 15.0 percent, while 21 areas registered rates below
5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in May was 9.1 percent,
not seasonally adjusted, up from 5.2 percent a year earlier. Among
the 310 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll employment were
available, 295 areas recorded over-the-year declines in employment
and 15 reported increases.
Metropolitan Area Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In May, 112 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least
10.0 percent, up from 6 areas a year earlier, while 97 areas posted
rates below 7.0 percent, down from 333 areas in May 2008. El Centro,
Calif., recorded the highest unemployment rate, 26.8 percent, fol-
lowed by Yuma, Ariz., at 23.3 percent. Among the 15 areas with job-
less rates of at least 15.0 percent, 7 were located in California, 3
were in Michigan, and 2 were in Indiana. Bismarck, N.D., registered
the lowest jobless rate in May, 3.5 percent, followed by Iowa City,
Iowa, 3.7 percent, and Ames, Iowa, 3.8 percent. Overall, 148 areas
posted unemployment rates above the U.S. figure of 9.1 percent, 215
areas reported rates below it, and 9 areas had the same rate. (See
table 1.)
For the fifth consecutive month, all 372 metropolitan areas had
over-the-year unemployment rate increases. Two areas in Indiana that
experienced layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing recorded
the largest jobless rate increases from May 2008: Kokomo (+11.7 per-
centage points) and Elkhart-Goshen (+11.4 points). The areas with the
next largest over-the-year rate increases were Bend, Ore. (+8.8 per-
centage points), and Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, N.C. (+8.5 points). An
additional 31 areas registered unemployment rate increases of 6.0 per-
centage points or more, and another 44 areas had rate increases of 5.0
to 5.9 points.
Of the 49 metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1
million or more, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., reported the highest
unemployment rate in May, 14.9 percent. The large areas with the next
highest rates were Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., 13.0
percent, and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C., and Providence-
Fall River-Warwick, R.I.-Mass., 12.0 percent each. Ten additional
large areas posted rates of 10.0 percent or more. The large areas
with the lowest jobless rates in May were Oklahoma City, Okla., and
San Antonio, Texas, 5.7 and 5.8 percent, respectively. All 49 large
areas registered over-the-year unemployment rate increases of at least
1.7 percentage points. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Ore.-Wash., and
Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., had the largest jobless rate increases
from a year earlier (+6.7 and +6.6 percentage points, respectively),
followed by Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. (+6.2 points). Five
additional large areas recorded rate increases of 5.0 percentage
points or more.
- 2 -
Metropolitan Division Unemployment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Eleven of the most populous metropolitan areas are composed of
34 metropolitan divisions, which are essentially separately iden-
tifiable employment centers. In May, the two divisions that com-
prise the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich., metropolitan area regis-
tered the highest jobless rates: Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, 16.0
percent, and Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, 14.1 percent. The
divisions with the next highest rates were Lawrence-Methuen-Salem,
Mass.-N.H., 12.4 percent, and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale,
Calif., 11.4 percent. Bethesda-Frederick-Rockville, Md., reported
the lowest unemployment rate among the divisions, 5.4 percent.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., posted the
next lowest rate, 6.4 percent. (See table 2.)
In May, all 34 metropolitan divisions recorded over-the-year
jobless rate increases of at least 2.4 percentage points. Warren-
Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich., and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich.,
experienced the largest rate increases (+6.7 and +6.4 percentage
points, respectively). Two additional divisions reported over-the-
year rate increases of 5.0 percentage points or more.
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 May. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy,
Mass.-N.H., posted the largest rate difference among its divisions,
5.9 percentage points (Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, Mass.-N.H., 12.4
percent, compared with Framingham, Mass., 6.5 percent).
Metropolitan Area Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
In May, 295 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year decreases
in nonfarm payroll employment and 15 reported increases. The largest
over-the-year employment decrease was recorded in Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (-254,700), followed by New York-Northern New
Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (-232,900), Chicago-Naperville-
Joliet, Ill.-Ind.-Wis. (-209,000), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Mich.
(-154,500). The largest over-the-year percentage declines in employ-
ment were reported in Elkhart-Goshen, Ind. (-13.4 percent), followed
by Lake Havasu City-Kingman, Ariz. (-9.1 percent), Prescott, Ariz.
(-8.9 percent), and Dalton, Ga., and Holland-Grand Haven, Mich.
(-8.8 percent each). (See table 3.)
The largest over-the-year increases in employment occurred in
Austin-Round Rock, Texas (+4,200), Baton Rouge, La. (+1,300), and
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas, and Odessa, Texas (+1,100 each).
The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment was
reported in Odessa, Texas (+1.8 percent), followed by Bismarck, N.D.
(+1.1 percent), Midland, Texas (+1.0 percent), and Champaign-Urbana,
Ill., and Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood, Texas (+0.9 percent each).
Over-the-year, nonfarm employment declined in 37 of the 38 metro-
politan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000
in 2008. The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment
in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Detroit-Warren-Livonia,
Mich. (-8.0 percent), Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (-7.4 percent),
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., and Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev.
(-6.3 percent each), and Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, N.C.-S.C. (-6.0
percent). Among the large areas, only one reported an increase in
employment: Austin-Round Rock, Texas (+0.5 percent).
- 3 -
Metropolitan Division Nonfarm Employment (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
Nonfarm payroll employment data were available in May for 32 metro-
politan divisions, which are essentially separately identifiable employ-
ment centers within a metropolitan area. All 32 metropolitan divisions
reported over-the-year employment declines. The largest over-the-year
employment decrease in the metropolitan divisions occurred in Chicago-
Naperville-Joliet, Ill. (-185,900), followed by Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Glendale, Calif. (-183,600), New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.
(-131,100), Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (-106,600), and Santa
Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. (-71,100).
The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the
metropolitan divisions was reported in Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich.
(-9.2 percent), followed by Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-6.2 percent),
Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Mass. (-5.0 percent), Chicago-Naperville-
Joliet, Ill. (-4.8 percent), and San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City,
Calif., and Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif. (-4.7 percent each).
________________________________
The Regional and State Employment and Unemployment release for June
is scheduled to be issued on Friday, July 17. The Metropolitan Area
Employment and Unemployment release for June is scheduled to be issued
on Wednesday, July 29.
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| |
| Restoration of Current Employment Statistics |
| Metropolitan Area Series |
| |
| With the release of June 2009 data on July 17, BLS will |
| resume publication of all nonfarm employment series for 65 |
| small metropolitan areas and all metropolitan area hours and |
| earnings series that were discontinued from the establishment |
| survey in March 2008 with the release of January 2008 data. |
| These series were discontinued due to a reduction in funding |
| that resulted from the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act |
| enacted on December 26, 2007. The funds to produce these |
| series were restored with the passage of the 2009 Omnibus |
| Appropriations Act on March 11, 2009. All series will be |
| restored from their original start date forward. For a de- |
| tailed list of the 65 metropolitan areas for which BLS will |
| be resuming publication of nonfarm employment series, please |
| refer to the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/sae/msaresto- |
| ration.htm. |
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