Unemployment rates fell in August in nearly 90 percent of large U.S. metro areas, mainly because more people gave up looking for work. |
The Labor Department said Wednesday that unemployment rates dropped in 329 large cities, the most in four months. Rates rose in 24 cities and were unchanged in 19. |
Here are unemployment rates in August for states and cities in the South: |
Metro Area Unemployment Rates, South |
Unemployment rates by state and city |
Figures in percentages |
|
Aug. 2012 July 2012 Aug. 2011 |
Alabama 8.5 8.9 9.4 |
Anniston-Oxford 8.9 9.4 9.6 |
Auburn-Opelika 7.4 8 7.9 |
Birmingham-Hoover 7.6 7.9 8.6 |
Decatur 8.2 8.7 9.2 |
Dothan 8.2 8.3 8.5 |
Florence-Muscle Shoals 8.2 8.6 8.9 |
Gadsden 8.7 8.8 9.5 |
Huntsville 7.2 7.6 7.9 |
Mobile 9.6 10.1 10.6 |
Montgomery 8.6 8.8 9.5 |
Tuscaloosa 8.4 9.1 9 |
|
Arkansas 6.9 7.8 8 |
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 5.3 6.1 6.4 |
Fort Smith 7.9 8.5 8.5 |
Hot Springs 7.3 8 8 |
Jonesboro 6.6 7.6 7.6 |
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 6.3 7 7.2 |
Pine Bluff 8.8 9.8 10.2 |
|
Delaware 7 7.1 7.4 |
Dover 7.6 7.7 7.7 |
|
Washington, D.C. 8.8 9.1 10.4 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria-Md. 5.5 5.6 6 |
|
Florida 9 9.4 10.9 |
Cape Coral-Fort Myers 9.5 9.8 11.5 |
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 6.1 6.5 7.5 |
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 9.1 9.5 11 |
Gainesville 7.1 7.8 8.5 |
Jacksonville 8.7 9.1 10.6 |
Lakeland-Winter Haven 10.2 10.6 12.3 |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 8.9 9.3 10.7 |
Naples-Marco Island 9.6 9.7 11.6 |
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 9.1 9.3 11.2 |
Ocala 10.1 10.6 12.7 |
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford 8.7 9.1 10.7 |
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 9.4 9.8 11.7 |
Palm Coast 12.4 12.7 14.7 |
Panama City-Lynn Haven 7.9 8.3 9.6 |
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 8.4 9 10.1 |
Port St Lucie 11.4 11.7 13.1 |
Punta Gorda 9.3 9.3 11.2 |
Sebastian-Vero Beach 11.9 12.2 13.9 |
Tallahassee 7.5 8.2 8.9 |
Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater 9 9.4 11.2 |
|
Georgia 9.2 9.5 10.1 |
Albany 9.9 10.3 10.8 |
Athens-Clarke County 6.7 7.3 7.5 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta 8.9 9.2 9.9 |
Augusta-Richmond County 9.4 9.8 9.6 |
Brunswick 10.1 10.7 10.9 |
Columbus 9.3 9.8 9.6 |
Dalton 11.6 12.1 12.4 |
Gainesville 7.2 7.7 8.1 |
Hinesville-Fort Stewart 9.1 9.6 9.6 |
Macon 9.7 10.1 10.4 |
Rome 10.3 10.6 11.7 |
Savannah 8.6 9.1 9.5 |
Valdosta 8.7 9.1 9.4 |
Warner Robins 7.6 8.1 7.9 |
|
Kentucky 8.4 8.5 9.3 |
Bowling Green 7.5 7.7 8.2 |
Elizabethtown 8 8 8.8 |
Lexington-Fayette 6.8 6.8 7.7 |
Louisville-Jefferson County 8.2 8.3 9.6 |
Owensboro 7.2 7.2 8 |
|
Louisiana 7.3 7.9 7.6 |
Alexandria 7.2 8 7.4 |
Baton Rouge 7.2 8 7.8 |
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 4.9 5.4 5.3 |
Lafayette 5 5.5 5.9 |
Lake Charles 6.7 7.4 7.1 |
Monroe 8.1 8.7 8 |
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 7.5 8.1 7.6 |
Shreveport-Bossier City 7.2 7.7 7.1 |
|
Maryland 7 7.1 7.3 |
Baltimore-Towson 7.7 7.7 7.8 |
Cumberland 7.9 7.9 8.2 |
Hagerstown-Martinsburg 7.9 7.9 9.1 |
Salisbury 8.5 8.6 9.1 |
|
Mississippi 8.5 10.2 10.7 |
Gulfport-Biloxi 7.6 9.2 9.5 |
Hattiesburg 7.3 9 10 |
Jackson 6.7 8.2 8.2 |
Pascagoula 8.5 10.3 11.5 |
|
North Carolina 9.7 9.9 10.8 |
Asheville 7.7 7.8 8.7 |
Burlington 9.7 10 11 |
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 9.7 10.1 11.2 |
Durham-Chapel Hill 7.6 7.9 8.6 |
Fayetteville 11.2 10.6 10.7 |
Goldsboro 8.9 9 9.8 |
Greensboro-High Point 10 10.3 11.3 |
Greenville 10.3 10.6 11.5 |
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 10.8 11.1 12.8 |
Jacksonville 9.2 9.3 9.7 |
Raleigh-Cary 7.8 7.9 9 |
Rocky Mount 12.9 13.2 14.6 |
Wilmington 9.8 10.1 10.8 |
Winston-Salem 9.2 9.4 10.2 |
|
Oklahoma 5 5.2 6.1 |
Lawton 6.4 6.6 6.5 |
Oklahoma City 4.6 4.8 5.7 |
Tulsa 5.4 5.5 6.8 |
|
South Carolina 9.4 9.7 10.6 |
Anderson 9.2 9.5 10.3 |
Charleston-Summerville 7.9 8.1 9 |
Columbia 8.4 8.6 9.5 |
Florence 10.2 10.4 11.7 |
Greenville-Mauldin-Easley 7.9 8.3 8.9 |
Myrtle Beach-Conway 9.4 9.4 10.1 |
Spartanburg 9.5 10.1 11 |
Sumter 10.7 11 12 |
|
Tennessee 8.3 8.7 9.3 |
Chattanooga 7.8 8.3 8.7 |
Clarksville 9 9.3 10 |
Cleveland 8.6 9 9.8 |
Jackson 8.9 9.1 10.1 |
Johnson City 7.7 7.9 8.6 |
Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol 7.6 7.9 8.5 |
Knoxville 6.9 7 7.6 |
Memphis 8.9 9.6 10.2 |
Morristown 10.3 10.5 11.2 |
Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro 7.2 7.3 8.2 |
|
Texas 7 7.5 8.2 |
Abilene 5.7 6.3 6.8 |
Amarillo 5 5.5 5.7 |
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 5.9 6.4 7.1 |
Beaumont-Port Arthur 10.7 11.4 11.5 |
Brownsville-Harlingen 11.1 11.6 12.1 |
College Station-Bryan 6.3 6.8 7.1 |
Corpus Christi 6.5 7 8.1 |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 6.9 7.4 8.1 |
El Paso 9.5 10.1 10.8 |
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 7 7.5 8.4 |
Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 7.7 8.3 8.5 |
Laredo 7.1 7.8 8.5 |
Longview 6.2 6.6 7.2 |
Lubbock 5.8 6.4 6.6 |
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 11.7 12.3 12.5 |
Midland 3.8 4.2 4.5 |
Odessa 4.5 4.8 6 |
San Angelo 5.5 6 6.5 |
San Antonio-New Braunfels 6.7 7.3 7.8 |
Sherman-Denison 7.2 7.7 8.6 |
Texarkana 6.6 7.1 7.8 |
Tyler 7.2 7.4 8.2 |
Victoria 5.7 6.4 6.8 |
Waco 6.7 7.4 7.8 |
Wichita Falls 6.6 7.2 7.3 |
|
Virginia 5.8 6.1 6.5 |
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 6.4 7.2 7.1 |
Charlottesville 5 5.3 5.6 |
Danville 8.6 9.1 10.3 |
Harrisonburg 5.9 6.5 6.4 |
Lynchburg 6.5 7.1 7.3 |
Richmond 6.4 6.7 7.2 |
Roanoke 6 6.4 6.8 |
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News 6.5 6.8 7.3 |
Winchester 5.9 6.1 6.6 |
|
West Virginia 7.2 7.2 7.9 |
Charleston 6.9 6.6 7.3 |
Huntington-Ashland 7.2 7.4 8.5 |
Morgantown 5.3 5 5.9 |
Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna 6.8 7 8.5 |
Wheeling 7.3 7.3 8.5 |