Boston unemployment shows large year-over-year increase

Posted on December 5, 2013

The Boston unemployment rate showed a big over-the-year jobless rate increase, according to the latest statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Twenty-four metropolitan divisions had over-the-year jobless rate decreases in October, while 10 had increases. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, Fla., had the largest rate decline from a year earlier (-1.7 percentage points), followed by Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla. (-1.6 points).

Ten other divisions had rate decreases of 1.0 percentage point or more. Boston- Cambridge-Quincy, Mass., and Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., had the largest unemployment rate increases over the year (+0.6 percentage point each).

Over the year, nonfarm employment rose in 36 of the 37 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2012. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in these large metropolitan areas occurred in Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (+3.4 percent), followed by Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C. (+3.3 percent), and Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+3.1 percent). The only large area that had an over-the-year percentage decrease in employment was Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio (-0.8 percent).

In addition, in October, 288 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 75 had decreases, and 9 had no change. The largest over- the-year employment increases occurred in New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (+141,800), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+96,100), and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. (+84,700). The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Naples-Marco Island, Fla. (+7.6 percent), followed by Sebastian-Vero Beach, Fla. (+6.7 percent), and Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Fla. (+6.0 percent). (See table 3.)

The largest over-the-year decrease in employment occurred in Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio (-7,700), followed by Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y. (-4,400), and Peoria, Ill. (-4,100). The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Decatur, Ill. (-4.3 percent), Manhattan, Kan. (-3.5 percent), and Palm Coast, Fla. (-3.4 percent).

The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the metropolitan divisions occurred in Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (+3.5 percent), followed by Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (+3.0 percent), and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Mass. (+2.7 percent). The only over-the-year percentage decreases in employment occurred in Gary, Ind. (-1.0 percent), and Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. (-0.2 percent).