The Washington metropolitan area’s unemployment rate declined year-over-year in November, according to new data, part of a majority of the nation’s metro corridors that saw lower joblessness rates for the month.
With 3,353,327 counted in the civilian workforce and 104,305 looking for jobs, the region’s November unemployment rate of 3.1 percent was down from 3.9 percent a year before, according to figures reported Dec. 29 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The region’s unemployment in October had been 3.3 percent.
A total of 235 of the nation’s 389 metro areas saw lower year-over-year joblessness in November, with rates higher in 133 areas and unchanged in 21.
A total of 215 metro areas had jobless rates lower than the national, non-seasonally-adjusted rate of 3.4 percent, with 153 areas higher and 21 the same as the national average.
Among all metro areas, the lowest jobless rates for the month were found in Fargo, N.D. (1.5%) and Mankato and Rochester, both in Minnesota (1.6% each). The highest rates were recorded in El Centro, Calif. (16.7%) and Yuma, Ariz. (16.3%).
Among the 51 metro areas with populations of more than a million, the lowest jobless rate was reported in Minneapolis (1.9%) with the highest in Las Vegas (5.6%). Of those 51, Los Angeles and New Orleans had the highest year-over-year declines in unemployment (dropping 1.6 percentage points) while Oklahoma City, whose unemployment rate gained 0.6 points during the period, was on the other end of the scale.
In terms of non-farm employment, rates increased in 95 metro areas year-over-year and were essentially unchanged in the other 294.
In raw numbers, the largest gainers in employment for the period were New York City (up 371,100), Los Angeles (266,900) and Dallas-Fort Worth (242,200), while the largest gainers on a percentage basis were Atlantic City (up 7.3% from a year ago) and Charleston, S.C. (up 6.6%).
In Virginia, the unemployment rate of 3 percent in November was up from 2.8 percent a month before and also from 2.8 percent a year ago. The November figure represented 4.34 million in the civilian workforce and approximately 128,000 looking for jobs.
Among Virginia’s metro areas outside the local region, jobless rates ranged from 2.6 percent in Winchester to 3.4 percent in Hampton Roads.
All November 2022 figures are preliminary and are subject to revision.