By one measure, the Baltimore metro unemployment rate is now lower than the D.C. metropolitan unemployment rate, and it is among the lowest in the nation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate in April for the Baltimore metropolitan statistical area, which includes Columbia and Towson, fell to 1.9%. That’s down from 2.3% in March and 2.9% a year ago. Baltimore City’s unemployment rate remains above 3%.
The D.C. metropolitan area’s April unemployment rate fell to 2.3%, down from 2.7% in March and 2.6% a year earlier.
The D.C. metro area ended April with about 74,000 more civilian jobs than a year earlier.
Among big metro areas — those with a population of 1 million or more — Birmingham, Alabama, had the lowest metropolitan unemployment rate in April at just 1.6%. The Baltimore metro area’s 1.9% ranked second-lowest among big cities.
Las Vegas remains the large metro with the highest unemployment rate, at 5.5%.
Among all metro areas, Dover, New Hampshire, and Manchester, New Hampshire, were tied for the lowest unemployment rate at 1.1%. El Centro, California had the highest, at 14.1%.
A total of 33 metro areas had jobless rates of less than 2.0%, and six had rates of at least 8%.
BLS posts monthly metropolitan unemployment rates and changes in workforce totals online.
