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 |