| Unemployment rates fell below 7 percent in a majority of U.S. cities in November, evidence that steady job gains are benefiting most parts of the country. |
| The Labor Department said Tuesday that rates fell in November from October in 215 of the 372 largest metro areas. Rates were unchanged in 33 and rose in 124. |
| Rates dropped below 7 percent in 192 cities. That’s the first time since the recession ended that more than half of large cities had rates below that threshold. |
| Here are unemployment rates in November for states and cities in the South: |
| Metro Area Unemployment Rates, South |
| Unemployment rates by state and city |
| Figures in percentages |
| Nov. 2012 Oct. 2012 Nov. 2011 |
| Alabama 6.7 7.8 7.7 |
| Anniston-Oxford 6.9 8.1 7.9 |
| Auburn-Opelika 5.6 6.7 6.4 |
| Birmingham-Hoover 6 7 7 |
| Decatur 6.5 7.5 7.5 |
| Dothan 6.5 7.5 7.1 |
| Florence-Muscle Shoals 6.2 7.2 7.4 |
| Gadsden 6.8 8.5 7.8 |
| Huntsville 5.7 6.7 6.6 |
| Mobile 7.5 8.7 8.8 |
| Montgomery 6.9 8 7.9 |
| Tuscaloosa 6.5 7.7 7.3 |
| Arkansas 6.5 6.6 7.2 |
| Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 4.6 5 5.4 |
| Fort Smith 7.6 8 8.1 |
| Hot Springs 6.8 7.1 7.5 |
| Jonesboro 6.2 6.5 6.5 |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 5.8 6 6.3 |
| Pine Bluff 8.3 8.4 9.3 |
| Delaware 6.2 6.6 6.7 |
| Dover 6.6 7 6.6 |
| Washington, D.C. 8.2 8.3 9.9 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria-Md. 5 5.1 5.3 |
| Florida 7.9 8.2 9.9 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers 8.3 8.5 10.5 |
| Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 5.9 5.7 7.2 |
| Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 8.3 8.4 10.3 |
| Gainesville 6.4 6.2 7.8 |
| Jacksonville 7.6 7.7 9.5 |
| Lakeland-Winter Haven 9 9.2 11.1 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 7.7 8.3 9.4 |
| Naples-Marco Island 7.8 8.5 9.6 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 8.1 8.3 10.2 |
| Ocala 9.2 9.1 11.7 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford 7.8 7.9 9.9 |
| Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 8.5 8.7 10.9 |
| Palm Coast 11.4 11.3 13.8 |
| Panama City-Lynn Haven 8.2 7.8 10.1 |
| Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 7.8 7.7 9.6 |
| Port St Lucie 9.8 10.3 11.7 |
| Punta Gorda 8.4 8.5 10.2 |
| Sebastian-Vero Beach 9.6 10.1 11.8 |
| Tallahassee 6.7 6.6 8.2 |
| Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater 8.1 8.2 10.3 |
| Georgia 8.3 8.5 9.1 |
| Albany 9.2 9.3 9.8 |
| Athens-Clarke County 6.2 6.2 6.7 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta 8 8.2 8.9 |
| Augusta-Richmond County 8.5 8.6 8.8 |
| Brunswick 9.2 9.5 10.2 |
| Columbus 8.3 8.7 8.5 |
| Dalton 11 11.3 12.1 |
| Gainesville 6.5 6.6 7.4 |
| Hinesville-Fort Stewart 8.4 8.5 8.9 |
| Macon 8.7 9 9.4 |
| Rome 9.4 9.6 10.6 |
| Savannah 7.7 7.9 8.4 |
| Valdosta 8.2 8.1 8.8 |
| Warner Robins 7 7.2 7.3 |
| Kentucky 7.6 7.8 8.5 |
| Bowling Green 6.6 7.2 7.4 |
| Elizabethtown 7.2 7.5 8.6 |
| Lexington-Fayette 6.1 6.2 6.9 |
| Louisville-Jefferson County 7.4 7.5 8.8 |
| Owensboro 6.4 6.8 6.9 |
| Louisiana 4.6 6.2 6.6 |
| Alexandria 4.5 6.1 6.5 |
| Baton Rouge 4.5 6.1 6.5 |
| Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 3.1 4.3 4.7 |
| Lafayette 3.1 4.2 5.1 |
| Lake Charles 4.2 5.8 6.3 |
| Monroe 4.9 6.7 7 |
| New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 4.7 6.5 6.5 |
| Shreveport-Bossier City 4.8 6.5 6.2 |
| Maryland 6.4 6.3 6.3 |
| Baltimore-Towson 6.8 6.7 6.7 |
| Cumberland 7 6.9 7 |
| Hagerstown-Martinsburg 7.2 7.2 7.9 |
| Salisbury 8.6 8 8.7 |
| Mississippi 7.5 8.3 9.8 |
| Gulfport-Biloxi 7 7.8 9.3 |
| Hattiesburg 6.4 7.3 8.8 |
| Jackson 6 6.7 7.9 |
| Pascagoula 7.8 8.5 11 |
| North Carolina 9 8.8 10.1 |
| Asheville 7.1 6.8 8 |
| Burlington 8.9 8.8 10 |
| Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 9 9 10.2 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill 6.9 6.8 7.8 |
| Fayetteville 9.5 9.4 10 |
| Goldsboro 8.6 8.4 9.1 |
| Greensboro-High Point 9.3 9.1 10.5 |
| Greenville 9.1 9.2 10 |
| Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 10.2 10 12.2 |
| Jacksonville 8.3 8.1 8.8 |
| Raleigh-Cary 7.2 7 8.2 |
| Rocky Mount 11.7 11.7 13.7 |
| Wilmington 9.3 9 10.5 |
| Winston-Salem 8.4 8.3 9.4 |
| Oklahoma 4.8 5.3 6 |
| Lawton 6.4 7 7 |
| Oklahoma City 4.5 4.9 5.6 |
| Tulsa 5.1 5.6 6.7 |
| South Carolina 8.3 8.2 9.5 |
| Anderson 8 7.9 9.4 |
| Charleston-Summerville 6.8 6.7 7.8 |
| Columbia 7.4 7.3 8.1 |
| Florence 9 9 10.3 |
| Greenville-Mauldin-Easley 6.9 6.8 7.7 |
| Myrtle Beach-Conway 9.7 9 11.1 |
| Spartanburg 8.2 8.1 9.4 |
| Sumter 9.7 9.5 10.8 |
| Tennessee 6.9 7.7 8.2 |
| Chattanooga 6.4 7.1 7.4 |
| Clarksville 7.5 8.3 8.9 |
| Cleveland 7 7.8 8.3 |
| Jackson 7.3 8.2 8.7 |
| Johnson City 6.1 7 7.3 |
| Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol 6.3 6.9 7.2 |
| Knoxville 5.4 6.2 6.4 |
| Memphis 7.7 8.6 9.1 |
| Morristown 8.5 9.3 10 |
| Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro 5.5 6.4 7 |
| Texas 5.8 6.2 7.2 |
| Abilene 4.6 4.9 5.8 |
| Amarillo 4.1 4.3 4.9 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 4.9 5.3 6.3 |
| Beaumont-Port Arthur 9.2 9.8 10.2 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen 9.7 10.1 11 |
| College Station-Bryan 5.1 5.3 5.9 |
| Corpus Christi 5.4 5.8 7 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 5.7 6.2 7.1 |
| El Paso 8.2 8.7 9.6 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 5.8 6.2 7.3 |
| Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 6.5 7 7.8 |
| Laredo 6 6.3 7 |
| Longview 5.3 5.7 6.3 |
| Lubbock 4.6 4.9 5.5 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 9.6 10.1 10.9 |
| Midland 3 3.2 3.8 |
| Odessa 3.6 3.9 4.9 |
| San Angelo 4.5 4.8 5.5 |
| San Antonio-New Braunfels 5.6 6 6.9 |
| Sherman-Denison 6.1 6.5 7.7 |
| Texarkana 5.6 6 6.8 |
| Tyler 6.1 6.5 7.9 |
| Victoria 5.1 5.3 6.2 |
| Waco 5.6 5.9 6.8 |
| Wichita Falls 5.4 5.8 6.5 |
| Virginia 5.3 5.4 5.8 |
| Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 5.4 5.6 5.8 |
| Charlottesville 4.3 4.5 4.7 |
| Danville 7.7 7.6 8.7 |
| Harrisonburg 5.2 5.3 5.6 |
| Lynchburg 5.9 5.9 6.5 |
| Richmond 5.9 6 6.5 |
| Roanoke 5.6 5.5 6.1 |
| Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News 6 6 6.7 |
| Winchester 5.3 5.5 6.2 |
| West Virginia 6.7 6.7 7.2 |
| Charleston 6.2 6.5 6.6 |
| Huntington-Ashland 6.4 6.6 7.4 |
| Morgantown 4.5 4.6 5 |
| Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna 6.3 6.3 7.3 |
| Wheeling 7 6.9 7.5 |
