Unemployment rates fell in 266 of the nation’s 389 metro areas tracked by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in December, with drops in both the Washington and Baltimore metro areas.
Washington’s December unemployment rate was 2.6%, one of the lowest big city unemployment rates in the nation and down from 2.8% in November. In December 2018, the D.C.-area’s unemployment rate was 2.9%.
Baltimore’s unemployment rate in December was 2.9%, down from 3.2% in November and down from 3.5% a year earlier.
Burlington, Vermont, claimed the title of lowest metro area unemployment rate in December, at 1.6%. El Centro, California, retained the title of highest, at 19.4%.
Among cities with a population of 1 million or more, the lowest December unemployment rate was Salt Lake City, at 2.0 percent.
Buffalo, New York, had the highest big city unemployment rate in December, at 4.7%.
The Labor Department reports the national unemployment rate for January on Feb. 7. It was 3.5% in December.
