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发帖数: 901 | 1 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Unemployment rates fell in roughly two-thirds of U.S.
cities last month, despite zero job growth nationwide.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that unemployment rates dropped in 237
of the nation's largest metro areas in August from July. They rose in 103
and stayed the same in 32. That's an improvement from July, when rates fell
in 193 areas and rose in 118.
Some areas with large agricultural sectors added jobs to coincide with the
start of the harvest. Auto companies boosted hiring in several other cities.
Rates also fell in Jackson, Miss., and other cities because thousands of
people gave up looking for work. People who are no longer searching for jobs
aren't counted as unemployed.
Unlike national and state data, metro unemployment figures are not adjusted
for seasonal changes.
The U.S. economy added no net jobs in August, the least amount of hiring in
almost a year. The national unemployment rate remained 9.1 percent for the
second straight month.
Businesses pulled back on hiring this summer after the government said the
economy barely expanded in the first six months of the year.
Most of the cities that reported sharp improvement still suffer from steep
unemployment rates. Unemployment dropped the most last month in Yuba City,
Calif., a heavily agricultural area in Northern California. The city's rate
fell from 18.6 percent in July to 17 percent last month.
Another big decline was in Modesto, Calif., home of the E. & J. Gallo Winery
, the largest winemaker in the world. The rate there dropped from 17.3
percent in July to 16 percent last month.
The unemployment rate in Mansfield, Ohio fell from 11.4 percent to 10.1
percent, mostly because the city added manufacturing jobs.
El Centro, Calif. and Yuma, Ariz. had the highest unemployment rates among
cities, at 32.4 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively. They are adjacent
counties with heavy farm economies and large contingents of migrant labor.
Yuma's rate fell while El Centro's ticked up.
Bismarck, N.D. reported the nation's lowest unemployment rate, at 3 percent.
Lincoln, Neb. had the next lowest rate, at 3.6 percent, followed by Fargo,
N.D., at 3.9 percent.
Among the 49 cities with populations of 1 million or more, Las Vegas had the
highest unemployment rate, at 14.2 percent. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif
. had the second highest, 14.1 percent. Both were hit by huge housing
bubbles and haven't yet recovered. |
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