The Washington metro area’s unemployment in November fell below 6% for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began.
The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the D.C. metro’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in November was 5.8%, down from 6.6% in October. That is still sharply higher than a year ago when the Washington region’s November 2019 unemployment rate was 2.8%.
The Baltimore metro’s unemployment rate in November fell to 6.1%, from 7.1% in October. Baltimore’s unemployment rate in November 2019 was 3.2%.
Nationwide, unemployment rates were higher in November than a year ago in 386 of the 389 metropolitan statistical areas where the bureau collects data.
Among cities with a population of 1 million or more, Las Vegas had the highest unemployment rate in November, at 11.5%.
Birmingham, Alabama and Minneapolis had the lowest jobless rates among large areas, at 3.8% and 3.9% respectively.
Among all metro areas, El Centro, California, and Kahului, Hawaii, had the highest November unemployment rates, at 16.4% and 16%.
The Labor Department posts monthly unemployment claims by metropolitan areas online.
