As has been the case throughout 2013, the BLS released yet another positive “Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment” report in early July. With 277 metropolitan areas recording a year-to-year rise in nonfarm payroll employment, and unemployment decelerating in 253 areas, the report featured a variety of encouraging statistics.
Regional economic upswing, jobless rates down
First, 205 areas’ unemployment rates were lower than the national, non-seasonally adjusted average of 7.3 percent, as 28 areas’ rates had declined by two percent or more since May 2012. Also, 37 areas reported jobless rates of less than five percent, while another 58 areas verified that their unemployment rates had fallen by one to 1.9 percent throughout the last 12 months.
This progress was not noticed in every metropolitan area, though, as two cities, Yuma, Ariz., and El Centro, Calif., once again recorded exceedingly high jobless rates, 30.8 and 22.8 percent, respectively. In fact, Yuma, Ariz., reportedly had the largest year-to-year rise in unemployment in the United States from May 2012 to May 2013 – 2.1 percent.
Nonetheless, unemployment within cities like Bismarck, N.D., continues to contract at a steady pace, as the city’s jobless rate, 2.4 percent, was the lowest in the United States. Other cities noticed similar progress in May, reporting a decline in either joblessness or inflation.
Source: BLS- economy at a glance
Mid–Atlantic – The nation’s capital’s employment
- For the second straight month, the District of Columbia’s unemployment rate lingered at 8.5 percent, as a majority of the District’s sectors reported a rise in employment.
- Hiring was particularly robust within the education and health services and leisure and hospitality sectors, increasing by 3.8 and 3.5 percent, respectively, from May 2012 to May 2013.
Midwest- Wisconsin employment
- Joblessness deteriorated considerably in Racine, Wisconsin, in May, as the city’s unemployment rate fell from 9.1 to 8.4 percent.
- 88,700 residents were employed, whereas 96,800 were members of the civilian labor force, as total unemployment declined to 8,100.
Mountain-Plains – Wyoming employment
- Casper, Wyoming’s jobless rate remained well below the national average in May, at 3.9 percent.
- In fact, after rising in January, the city’s rate has decreased every month since, declining by 1.2 percent throughout the last five months. 1,700 residents were without work in May.
New England – New Hampshire employment
- Although Manchester, New Hampshire’s unemployment rate remained unchanged, at 4.9 percent, for the second successive month in May, it has generally weakened throughout 2013.
- Since January, the rate has decreased by 1.4 percent, as total unemployment has declined by 1,600.
New York–New Jersey – New York City employment
- 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) rose by 1.4 and 1.3 percent, respectively, from May 2012 to May 2013.
Southeast – Georgia employment
- Employment rose within a majority of the greater Atlanta, Georgia area’s private sectors from May 2012 to May 2013.
- The largest year-to-year hiring increase was recorded in the metropolis’s information and professional and business services sectors, as employment within each sector augmented by 4.5 percent, respectively, during that time span.
Southwest – Texas employment
- Hiring also upturned within most of Corpus Christi, Texas’s private sectors from May 2012 to May 2013.
- The most noticeable employment increases were recorded in the leisure and hospitality and finance industries, as hiring rose by seven and 2.7 percent, respectively.
West – California employment
- The greater Los Angeles area’s CPI-U and CPI-W each upturned by one percent, respectively, from May 2012 to May 2013.
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