Metros with the highest unemployment rate
The U.S. economy is coming off of one of the largest spikes in unemployment in recorded history. The country's employers have added more jobs month after month since more than 20 million Americans found themselves jobless in spring 2020—the result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty it wrought for businesses.
Stacker compiled a list of the metros with the highest unemployment using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Metros are ranked by the highest percent unemployment rate in August 2022, a measure that when high can signal a slowing economy. When an economy is contracting, less workers are needed for less output.
#50. Medford, Oregon
- Unemployment rate: 4.89%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.5%%
#49. Peoria, Illinois
- Unemployment rate: 4.92%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -1.0%%
#48. Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey
- Unemployment rate: 4.93%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -4.2%%
#47. Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- Unemployment rate: 4.95%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -2.0%%
#46. Flagstaff, Arizona
- Unemployment rate: 4.96%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -0.8%%
#45. Bay City, Michigan
- Unemployment rate: 5.00%
- 1 month change: -0.5%%
- 1 year change: -0.8%%
#44. Farmington, New Mexico
- Unemployment rate: 5.08%
- 1 month change: -0.6%%
- 1 year change: -3.2%%
#43. New Bedford, Massachusetts
- Unemployment rate: 5.12%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.8%%
#42. Battle Creek, Michigan
- Unemployment rate: 5.16%
- 1 month change: -0.5%%
- 1 year change: -1.5%%
#41. Modesto, California
- Unemployment rate: 5.17%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -2.9%%
#40. Stockton-Lodi, California
- Unemployment rate: 5.17%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -3.3%%
#39. Vineland-Bridgeton, New Jersey
- Unemployment rate: 5.22%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -2.7%%
#38. Cumberland, Maryland
- Unemployment rate: 5.31%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -0.7%%
#37. Longview, Washington
- Unemployment rate: 5.35%
- 1 month change: +0.8%%
- 1 year change: -1.3%%
#36. Erie, Pennsylvania
- Unemployment rate: 5.35%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.9%%
#35. Pueblo, Colorado
- Unemployment rate: 5.38%
- 1 month change: -0.3%%
- 1 year change: -2.7%%
#34. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio
- Unemployment rate: 5.39%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.9%%
#33. Waterbury, Connecticut
- Unemployment rate: 5.47%
- 1 month change: +0.0%%
- 1 year change: -2.1%%
#32. Yuba City, California
- Unemployment rate: 5.48%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -2.7%%
#31. Corpus Christi, Texas
- Unemployment rate: 5.52%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.5%%
#30. Madera, California
- Unemployment rate: 5.55%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -2.6%%
#29. Muskegon, Michigan
- Unemployment rate: 5.70%
- 1 month change: -0.5%%
- 1 year change: -1.7%%
#28. Yakima, Washington
- Unemployment rate: 5.70%
- 1 month change: +1.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.9%%
#27. Danville, Illinois
- Unemployment rate: 5.71%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.1%%
#26. Dover, Delaware
- Unemployment rate: 5.71%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.0%%
#25. Scranton--Wilkes-Barre--Hazleton, Pennsylvania
- Unemployment rate: 5.72%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -2.2%%
#24. Grants Pass, Oregon
- Unemployment rate: 5.74%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%
#23. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada
- Unemployment rate: 5.74%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.9%%
#22. Fayetteville, North Carolina
- Unemployment rate: 5.78%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.1%%
#21. Pine Bluff, Arkansas
- Unemployment rate: 5.80%
- 1 month change: -0.9%%
- 1 year change: -0.1%%
#20. Fresno, California
- Unemployment rate: 5.85%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -2.9%%
#19. Kankakee, Illinois
- Unemployment rate: 5.86%
- 1 month change: +0.5%%
- 1 year change: -0.6%%
#18. Saginaw, Michigan
- Unemployment rate: 5.88%
- 1 month change: -0.7%%
- 1 year change: -1.7%%
#17. Weirton-Steubenville, Ohio
- Unemployment rate: 5.98%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%
#16. Johnstown, Pennsylvania
- Unemployment rate: 6.02%
- 1 month change: +0.0%%
- 1 year change: -1.7%%
#15. Flint, Michigan
- Unemployment rate: 6.05%
- 1 month change: -0.6%%
- 1 year change: -3.4%%
#14. Hanford-Corcoran, California
- Unemployment rate: 6.28%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -2.7%%
#13. Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas
- Unemployment rate: 6.45%
- 1 month change: -0.4%%
- 1 year change: -1.4%%
#12. Rocky Mount, North Carolina
- Unemployment rate: 6.45%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.6%%
#11. East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
- Unemployment rate: 6.47%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -1.6%%
#10. Decatur, Illinois
- Unemployment rate: 6.52%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -1.2%%
#9. Bakersfield, California
- Unemployment rate: 6.69%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -3.1%%
#8. Rockford, Illinois
- Unemployment rate: 6.76%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.1%%
#7. Merced, California
- Unemployment rate: 6.79%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -2.8%%
#6. Kokomo, Indiana
- Unemployment rate: 6.91%
- 1 month change: +1.2%%
- 1 year change: +0.9%%
#5. Beaumont-Port Arthur, Texas
- Unemployment rate: 7.06%
- 1 month change: -0.3%%
- 1 year change: -2.4%%
#4. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
- Unemployment rate: 7.67%
- 1 month change: -0.3%%
- 1 year change: -1.4%%
#3. Visalia-Porterville, California
- Unemployment rate: 7.94%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -2.5%%
#2. El Centro, California
- Unemployment rate: 16.21%
- 1 month change: +1.8%%
- 1 year change: -3.2%%
#1. Yuma, Arizona
- Unemployment rate: 21.00%
- 1 month change: +2.9%%
- 1 year change: +4.4%%
