[dimondpark]

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data for Sep 2011 and Sep 2010(the latest 12 month period available)

Metro Areas where unemployment declined in the past 12 months:
Metro Sep 2011 rate/Sep 2010 rate percentage change
Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor 7.1% 9.1% -2.0%
Las Vegas-Paradise 13.6% 15.6% -2.0%
Detroit-Warren-Livonia 10.8% 12.6% -1.8%
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 8.4% 9.9% -1.5%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 9.6% 11.0% -1.4%
Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater 10.8% 12.2% -1.4%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford 10.2% 11.6% -1.4%
Jacksonville 10.0% 11.2% -1.2%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 14.6% 13.4% -1.2%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy 6.3% 7.4% -1.1%
Miami-Ft Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 10.6% 11.7% 1.1%
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale 8.1% 9.1% -1.0%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 9.2% 10.2% -1.0%
Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington 6.0% 6.9% -0.9%
St Louis 8.7% 9.6% -0.9%
Tulsa 6.4% 7.9% -0.9%
Denver-Aurora-Broomfield 7.8% 8.6% -0.8%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale 11.9% 12.7% -0.8%
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 6.9% 7.7% -0.8%
Sacramento-Arden Arcade-Roseville 11.5% 12.3% -0.8%
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos 9.7% 10.5% -0.8%
Kansas City 8.2% 8.9% -0.7%
Buffalo-Niagara Falls 7.3% 7.9% -0.6%
Oklahoma City 5.5% 6.1% -0.6%
Rochester 7.1% 7.7% -0.6%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 8.5% 9.1% -0.6%
Cincinatti-Middletown 8.7% 9.2% -0.5%
Indianapolis-Carmel 8.1% 8.6% -0.5%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford 8.4% 8.8% -0.4%
Pittsburgh 6.8% 7.2% -0.4%
Columbus 7.8% 8.1% -0.3%
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island 8.3% 8.6% -0.3%
Salt Lake City 6.7% 7.0% -0.3%
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis 7.6% 7.8% -0.2%

Metro Areas that had no change in unemployment in the past 12 months
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marrieta 10.3% 10.3% No change
Baltimore-Towson 7.6% 7.6% No change
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 10.7% 10.7% no change

Metro Areas where unemployment rates increased in the past 12 months
Dallas-Ft Worth-Arlington 8.3% 8.1% +0.2%
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News 7.1% 7.3% +0.2%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 6.2% 6.0% +0.2%
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 8.6% 8.3% +0.3%
Nashville Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin 8.5% 8.2% +0.3%
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 7.4% 7.0% +0.4%
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville 9.8% 9.3% +0.5%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington 9.1% 8.6% +0.5%
Raleigh-Durham 8.4% 7.9% +0.5%
San Antonio-New Braunfels 7.9% 7.3% +0.6%
Memphis 10.5% 9.7% +0.7%

[spark317]

Interesting, and thanks for sharing!!

One question: how can the Va Beach/Norfolk/Newport News area be in the unemployment increase category when the 2011 rate is lower than the 2010? Maybe it was a typo.

BTW - a local newspaper reported the metro unemployment was down to 6.4%. Norfolk has historically had a much-lower rate than the rest of the country - it's usually in line with D.C.

[Dralcoffin]

Ouch, Chicago. Anyone know a particular reason why Chicago is so high, and getting worse?

[Standpoor]

Ouch, Chicago. Anyone know a particular reason why Chicago is so high, and getting worse?

It is getting worse because jobseekers are re-entering the market mostly. For instance, I think Illinois and Michigan created a similar number of jobs for the month of October, however the number of people seeking employment dropped by a large number in Michigan and increased by a large number in Illinois. Therefore, Michigan's unemployment rate was way down while Illinois' increased. Which is better? I do not know but just like every other list, it tells you a little but not everything.

Edit: Finally found the article I was looking for. Illinois added 30,000 new jobs in September while Michigan added 29,000.

[Omaharocks]

"Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale 9.1% 8.1% -1.0%"

If those numbers are correct than that would be a 1% increase for Phoenix, but I'm guessing they were just typed in the wrong order.

[urbanlife]

Interesting, and thanks for sharing!!

One question: how can the Va Beach/Norfolk/Newport News area be in the unemployment increase category when the 2011 rate is lower than the 2010? Maybe it was a typo.

BTW - a local newspaper reported the metro unemployment was down to 6.4%. Norfolk has historically had a much-lower rate than the rest of the country - it's usually in line with D.C.

Yeah, I was confused by that too...as for having a low unemployment, that area is home to a lot of military jobs and related jobs and we as a country have given a lot of money to our military and it has shown in that region. If there were any major cuts to the military budget, the unemployment for that metro would most definitely climb.

[KB0679]

Didn't know Minneapolis and OKC were doing so well.

[plinko]

Go Riverside! :lol

A little further down the food chain, Fresno is at something like 18%! (last time I looked)

[min-chi-cbus]

Didn't know Minneapolis and OKC were doing so well.

Oh yeah.....Minneapolis is usually good in this department and is usually silently better than other markets......probably BECAUSE it is colder and less desirable. I am from there and we moved to NE Ohio and I can't find shit here in 6 months and want to move to where the jobs are -- and strongly considering Minneapolis again.

[lawfin]

On the Chicago numbers just anecdotally I live in an area where there are a lot of renters. Well I guess in comparison Chicago has a lot of renters vis-a-vis most other places in US...anyhow the point is that while it is quite common to see out of state plates driving around the city over the past several months there has been a very noticeable uptick in their frequency. And nearby I know there have been several families to move into the neighborhood from states such as AZ, MI , OH even CA

[Chef]

Didn't know Minneapolis and OKC were doing so well.Like min-chi-cbus said Minneapolis usually has one of the lowest rates in the country. Now that the October numbers are out it has fallen to 5.4%. It's down a point and a half in the last two months.

[Vlajos]

On the Chicago numbers just anecdotally I live in an area where there are a lot of renters. Well I guess in comparison Chicago has a lot of renters vis-a-vis most other places in US...anyhow the point is that while it is quite common to see out of state plates driving around the city over the past several months there has been a very noticeable uptick in their frequency. And nearby I know there have been several families to move into the neighborhood from states such as AZ, MI , OH even CA

Obviously anecdotal, however, I've noticed the exact thing recently.

[ltsmotorsport]

Wasn't expecting to all the big Texas metros go up in unemployment. A little surprising.

[urbanactivist]

Wasn't expecting to all the big Texas metros go up in unemployment. A little surprising.

Well when you have Rick Perry for a governer, nothing is out of bounds. Many of the job losses in Texas have been public sector... we have been slashing teachers and educational support staff left and right. Also worth considering is what we've all learned from watching the national unemployment rate. The people looking for jobs may be on the increase in Texas metros, whereas that number declined in other metros thus causing their overall rate to decline as well.

Wouldn't Tulsa's rate of change be -1.5% instead of -0.9%?

[Evergrey]

Much of the decline of unemployment rates is due to all-time low labor participation rates and shrinking labor forces. It's not a good thing.

[Centropolis]

yeah, I'm not sure what these numbers really tell us.

[downtownpdx]

Much of the decline of unemployment rates is due to all-time low labor participation rates and shrinking labor forces. It's not a good thing.

Exactly -- looking at job growth in percentage terms seems to be a much better barometer of economic health. Of course, I suppose if you have 4% job growth but your population is also growing really fast, then there are lots of people competing for the new jobs, and unemployment can stay high. Places like North Dakota have low unemployment because there is decent job creation + low population growth -- people (generally) aren't moving there unless a job is already lined up.

[WilliamTheArtist]

Yes that was my first thought, Is Tulsa's unemployment rate going down because there are more jobs or is some of that because there is a decrease in population (possibly going to Texas lol). Tulsa typically has a very low levels of unemployment (though we also have a lot of poor which I suppose would mean we have a lot of low paying jobs). However, if the population is increasing and the unemployment rate is going down that's still pretty good news. But then to be a real stickler one could ask, What kind of jobs are these?

[KB0679]

Oh yeah.....Minneapolis is usually good in this department and is usually silently better than other markets......probably BECAUSE it is colder and less desirable. I am from there and we moved to NE Ohio and I can't find shit here in 6 months and want to move to where the jobs are -- and strongly considering Minneapolis again.

Interesting. Minneapolis seems like a cool place, although I don't know if I could deal with the winters.

Like min-chi-cbus said Minneapolis usually has one of the lowest rates in the country. Now that the October numbers are out it has fallen to 5.4%. It's down a point and a half in the last two months.

Good info. Thanks.

[Vlajos]

Much of the decline of unemployment rates is due to all-time low labor participation rates and shrinking labor forces. It's not a good thing.

The baby boomers are starting to retire.

[summersm343]

I wish Camden wasn't included in the Philly metro area, it brings our statistics down on EVERYTHING!

[Trae]

Well when you have Rick Perry for a governer, nothing is out of bounds. Many of the job losses in Texas have been public sector... we have been slashing teachers and educational support staff left and right. Also worth considering is what we've all learned from watching the national unemployment rate. The people looking for jobs may be on the increase in Texas metros, whereas that number declined in other metros thus causing their overall rate to decline as well.

Wouldn't Tulsa's rate of change be -1.5% instead of -0.9%?

People keep moving to the big Texas metros without jobs. Think thats the biggest reason.