Unemployment rates in March fell in 267 of the nation’s metropolitan areas, rose in 100 cities and were unchanged in 22. The D.C. region’s unemployment rate continues to trend downward.
The Washington region’s unemployment rate in March was 3.3%, down from 3.5% in February.
Baltimore’s unemployment rate in March was 3.9%, down from 4.1%.
The nationwide jobless rate in March was 3.8 percent. The Labor Department reports April’s national unemployment rate on May 3.
Ames, Iowa, retained the title of the nation’s lowest unemployment rate, at just 1.5%. El Centro, California had the highest metro unemployment rate at 17.8%
Among metro areas with a population of 1 million or more, Nashville had the lowest jobless rate, 2.6%, in March. Buffalo, New York, and San Bernardino, California, tied for the highest unemployment rate at 4.5%.
The D.C. region had a total civilian labor force of 3.42 million at the end of March, 27,900 more than a year earlier, for an annual job growth rate of less than 1%.
