Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (Monthly) News Release — 2009-03-19

Unemployment rates were higher in January than a year earlier in 371 of the 372 metropolitan areas and unchanged in 1 area, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Fourteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 per- cent, while 23 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent. The na- tional unemployment rate in January was 8.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 5.4 percent a year earlier. In January, 89 metropolitan areas reported jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, up from 12 areas a year earlier, while 109 areas posted rates below 7.0 percent, down from 320 areas in January 2008. El Centro, Calif., recorded the highest unemploy- ment rate, 24.2 percent. The areas with the next highest rates were Merced, Calif., 18.9 percent, and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind., 18.3 percent. Among the 14 areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, 10 were located in California.