Regional jobs picture continues to improve | news/arlington | insidenova.com – Inside NoVA
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Updated: December 31, 2021 @ 9:42 pm
The Washington metropolitan area’s unemployment rate continues to retract, according to new federal data.
With 3,371,846 people in the civilian workforce and 122,931 looking for jobs, the region’s jobless rate was 3.6 percent in November, according to figures reported Dec. 30 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s down from 6.4 percent a year ago, with the D.C. region joining all 389 national metro areas in recording lower year-over-year joblessness.
Nationally, the non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.9 percent, down from 6.4 percent a year ago. A total of 245 metro areas had jobless rates lower than the national average, 131 were higher and 13 were equal to it.
Among all metro areas, the lowest jobless rates for the month were in Lincoln (Neb.) and Logan (Utah), at 1.1 percent each. The highest rate was reported in El Centro, Calif., at 15.5 percent.
Among metro areas with populations higher than a million, Salt Lake City (1.4 percent) and Oklahoma City (1.7 percent) had the lowest jobless rates, while Los Angeles (6.4 percent) and Las Vegas (6.3 percent) had the highest.
Nationally, 139 metro areas had unemployment recorded at less than 3 percent, while two areas saw double-digit joblessness.
While unemployment rates were down, non-farm employment was up in only 100 of the 389 metro areas on a year-over-year basis. In all the other areas, it was statistically unchanged.
In Virginia, November’s jobless rate of 2.7 percent represented 4,262,203 employed and 115,515 looking for work, and was down from 5.5 percent a year before.
Among Virginia’s metro corridors, the lowest jobless rates were turned in by Blacksburg and Staunton (2.2 percent each), with the highest rate (3.3 percent) recorded in Hampton Roads.
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