04/25/2024

See How Your Area Compares to California’s Pockets of Stubbornly High Unemployment

The labor market across the U.S. may be tightening, but some metro regions still have exceptionally high jobless rates.

Seven metro areas had an unemployment rate of 10% or higher in April, Labor Department figures released Wednesday show.

Five of those seven areas are in California. El Centro, Calif., led all metro areas in the U.S. with a 20.1% jobless rate in April. It was followed by Yuma, Ariz.; Merced, Calif.; Ocean City, N.J.; Visalia-Porterville, Calif.; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.

Overall, the employment picture is improving. The jobless rate fell in 269 metro areas in the year through April. It rose in 94 areas and held steady in 24.

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