Acadiana Business

Unemployment rates fall for most US cities in the South

by Walter Pierce

Unemployment rates fell in more than 80 percent of large U.S. cities in February from January, suggesting that strong hiring that month benefited the vast majority of the country.

Unemployment rates fell in more than 80 percent of large U.S. cities in February from January, suggesting that strong hiring that month benefited the vast majority of the country.

The Labor Department says rates fell in 311 of the nation's 372 largest metro areas. They rose in 45 and were unchanged in 16.

Nationwide, employers added 268,000 jobs in February, the most in a year. That pushed down the unemployment rate to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent. But hiring slowed sharply last month, when employers added only 88,000 jobs.

Here are the unemployment rates for cities in the South:

Metro Area Unemployment Rates, South

Unemployment rates by state and city

Figures in percentages

Feb. 2013

Jan. 2013

Feb. 2012

Alabama

7.8

7.8

7.6

Anniston-Oxford

8.2

8.1

7.8

Auburn-Opelika

6.4

6.6

6.2

Birmingham-Hoover

7

6.9

6.8

Decatur

7.8

7.6

7.9

Dothan

7.7

7.6

7.2

Florence-Muscle Shoals

7.6

7.7

7.7

Gadsden

7.9

7.9

7.6

Huntsville

6.8

6.6

6.6

Mobile

8.9

8.7

8.7

Montgomery

7.9

7.9

7.7

Tuscaloosa

7.2

7.4

6.8

Arkansas

7.8

8.2

8.2

Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers

5.8

5.9

6.4

Fort Smith

8.3

8.7

8.3

Hot Springs

8.2

8.4

8.5

Jonesboro

7.3

7.8

7.7

Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway

7

7.1

7.2

Pine Bluff

10.1

10.5

10

Delaware

7.6

7.9

7.6

Dover

8.1

8.4

8

Washington, D.C.

8.6

9.3

9.5

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria-Md.

5.5

5.7

5.9

Florida

7.5

8

9

Cape Coral-Fort Myers

7.4

7.9

9.3

Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin

5.5

6

6.9

Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach

7.6

8.2

9.5

Gainesville

5.6

6.1

7

Jacksonville

7

7.5

8.9

Lakeland-Winter Haven

8.3

8.9

10.2

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach

7.9

8.2

8.7

Naples-Marco Island

6.9

7.5

8.3

North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota

7.2

7.9

9.1

Ocala

8.4

9.1

10.8

Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford

7.1

7.7

9

Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville

8

8.5

10

Palm Coast

10.3

11

12.5

Panama City-Lynn Haven

7.8

8.9

9.4

Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent

7.1

7.7

8.7

Port St Lucie

8.8

9.5

10.5

Punta Gorda

7.4

8.1

9.3

Sebastian-Vero Beach

8.9

9.5

10.3

Tallahassee

6.4

6.8

7.7

Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater

7.4

8

9.4

Georgia

8.6

9.1

9.5

Albany

9.2

9.7

9.9

Athens-Clarke County

6.1

6.5

7

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta

8.3

8.7

9.3

Augusta-Richmond County

8.5

9.1

9

Brunswick

9.6

10.2

10.7

Columbus

8.8

9.4

9.1

Dalton

11

11.9

12.4

Gainesville

6.9

7.4

8

Hinesville-Fort Stewart

8.8

9.3

9.4

Macon

9

9.4

10

Rome

9.3

10.2

10.8

Savannah

7.8

8.3

8.7

Valdosta

8.1

8.6

8.9

Warner Robins

7.2

7.6

7.8

Kentucky

8.6

8.7

9.3

Bowling Green

7.4

7.8

8

Elizabethtown

7.8

8

9.2

Lexington-Fayette

6.8

6.8

7.5

Louisville-Jefferson County

8.4

8.4

9.5

Owensboro

7.2

7.4

7.8

Louisiana

5.8

7.2

6.8

Alexandria

5.8

7.4

6.8

Baton Rouge

5.5

7

6.8

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux

4

5.2

4.9

Lafayette

4.2

5.4

5.1

Lake Charles

5.2

6.6

6.2

Monroe

6.3

7.7

7.4

New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner

5.9

7.2

6.8

Shreveport-Bossier City

6.3

7.6

6.5

Maryland

6.9

7.2

7.2

Baltimore-Towson

7.1

7.5

7.5

Cumberland

8.2

9

8.8

Hagerstown-Martinsburg

8

8.3

8.8

Salisbury

9.5

9.9

10.1

Mississippi

9.9

10.7

9.5

Gulfport-Biloxi

9.4

10.1

9.1

Hattiesburg

8.6

9.3

8.2

Jackson

7.9

8.6

7.6

Pascagoula

10.7

11.5

10.4

North Carolina

9.5

10.2

10

Asheville

7.8

8.4

8.5

Burlington

9.3

10.1

9.8

Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill

9.4

10

10

Durham-Chapel Hill

7

7.7

7.6

Fayetteville

10

10.8

10

Goldsboro

9.2

9.8

9

Greensboro-High Point

9.9

10.6

10.2

Greenville

9.1

10

9.3

Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton

10.8

11.6

11.7

Jacksonville

8.9

9.5

9

Raleigh-Cary

7.5

8

8.1

Rocky Mount

13.2

14.1

13.3

Wilmington

10.2

11.1

10.7

Winston-Salem

8.8

9.5

9.3

Oklahoma

5.3

5.6

5.7

Lawton

6.6

6.9

7

Oklahoma City

4.9

5.2

5.2

Tulsa

5.6

5.9

6.3

South Carolina

8.8

9.3

9.8

Anderson

7.9

8.5

9.7

Charleston-Summerville

6.8

7.3

8

Columbia

7.4

7.9

8.4

Florence

9.8

10.1

10.8

Greenville-Mauldin-Easley

6.9

7.3

7.9

Myrtle Beach-Conway

11.2

12.4

13

Spartanburg

8.4

8.9

9.5

Sumter

9.8

10.2

10.9

Tennessee

8.2

8.5

8.5

Chattanooga

7.5

8

7.7

Clarksville

8.6

9

9

Cleveland

7.8

7.9

8.4

Jackson

8.3

8.6

8.5

Johnson City

7.5

7.9

7.7

Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol

7.4

7.7

7.8

Knoxville

6.7

6.9

6.8

Memphis

9.3

9.7

9.3

Morristown

10.1

10.3

10.4

Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro

6.4

6.6

7.1

Texas

6.5

6.9

7.2

Abilene

5.1

5.4

5.6

Amarillo

4.6

4.9

5

Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos

5.4

5.8

6.2

Beaumont-Port Arthur

9.9

10.9

10

Brownsville-Harlingen

10.4

11

11.1

College Station-Bryan

5.3

5.9

5.8

Corpus Christi

5.9

6.5

6.9

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington

6.3

6.7

7.2

El Paso

9.1

9.5

9.8

Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown

6.3

6.7

7.3

Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood

7.1

7.5

7.9

Laredo

6.9

7.2

7.6

Longview

5.7

6.2

6

Lubbock

5.1

5.5

5.7

McAllen-Edinburg-Mission

11

11.6

11.4

Midland

3.2

3.4

3.7

Odessa

3.8

4.1

4.6

San Angelo

5.1

5.4

5.6

San Antonio-New Braunfels

6.1

6.6

6.9

Sherman-Denison

7

7.5

7.8

Texarkana

6.8

7.2

7.3

Tyler

6.6

7.2

7.4

Victoria

5.4

5.8

6.1

Waco

6.1

6.5

6.9

Wichita Falls

6

6.3

6.3

Virginia

5.7

6.2

6.3

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford

7

8.3

6.5

Charlottesville

4.9

5.3

5.5

Danville

7.9

8.6

9

Harrisonburg

5.4

5.6

6.2

Lynchburg

6.4

6.8

7.1

Richmond

6.2

6.6

6.9

Roanoke

6

6.4

6.6

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News

6.2

6.8

7.1

Winchester

5.7

6.1

6.6

West Virginia

8.1

8.3

8.1

Charleston

7.6

7.8

7.3

Huntington-Ashland

7.7

8.2

8.2

Morgantown

5.6

6.1

5.8

Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna

8.1

8.4

8.8

Wheeling

8.3

9.3

8.5