The unemployment rate in July was 10.5%, an improvement from each of the two prior months.  However, the figure is still above the worst single month of The Great Recession–October 2009. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, among America’s 389 metro areas, the jobless rate ranged from 2.7% to 26.8%. The figure in each of these cities was higher than in the same month one ago. Cities at the high end of this range have jobless rates at the Great Depression level.

Four cities had jobless rates which were over twice as much as the national average. El Centro, California, had the highest unemployment rate in July at 26.8%. In Yuma, Arizona, the figure was 24.8%. In Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey, it was 24.0%, and in Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii, it was 21.6%.

Each of these four has an unfortunate mix of industries and companies as its major employers. Agriculture accounts for almost 50% of the jobs in El Centro, and some of those are seasonal. Construction jobs, a major part of the labor force, did not come back entirely after the Great Recession. The poverty rate is extremely high. Some experts believe a part of the population may have trouble finding jobs because English is not their first language. El Centro was the city with the highest employment in the Great Recession as well. The figure ran above 20% through much of 2009.

Yuma also was among the hardest-hit cities as jobs disappeared during the Great Recession. It did not recover with the improved job market between 2010 and 2019. A large seasonal agriculture workforce is blamed for much of the high jobless number. The largest individual employers, which include the Marine Corps Air Station and the local government and schools, are relatively small.

Atlantic City-Hammonton was the gambling capital of the eastern United States. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 led to the opening of a number of large casinos in the Northeast. Atlantic City never fully recovered from the damage of Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012.

Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina’s workforce has a large number of jobs supported by tourism. Those have almost entirely disappeared.

At the other end of the spectrum, out of the 389 cities that the BLS measures, only seven had unemployment rates below 5% in July.

A 5% jobless rate is considered full employment by most economists. This is based on the theory that there are always a small number of people between jobs or entering or exiting the national workforce. The following cities were below this level in July:

Logan, Utah-Idaho, at 2.7%
Idaho Falls, Idaho, at 3.1%
Provo-Orem, Utah, at 3.6%
Ogden-Clearfield, Utah, at 4.0%
Twin Falls, Idaho, at 4.4%
Pocatello, Idaho, at 4.5%
Bismarck, North Dakota, at 4.9%

Aside from Bismarck, these metro areas are clearly clustered in two states in which unemployment is also low. Utah’s unemployment rate in July was 4.6%. Idaho’s was 4.7%.

The other thing they have in common is that they are extremely small compared to most of the others on the list. That means the number of people unemployed in each is counted in the thousands. In Pocatello, the figure is less than 2,000.

Utah and Idaho have several advantages over most states in terms of jobs. In Utah, five of the 10 top employers are hospitals or medical systems. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is also a major employer, and the tech industry is another, led by Cisco Systems.

Idaho’s largest employers are in the tech industry, universities, health care centers, and the military. The largest employer in the state is Micron Technology. Boise State University is next, followed by the Mountain Home Air Force Base. The University of Idaho and the Idaho Military Department are high on the list.

The unemployment rate is expected to drop when figures are issued for August and September. October’s figures will not be released until the first week of November, within days of the election. It is too early to say if the national unemployment rate will rise again. If this happens, it means that the econmomy has begun another sharp decent. What is certain is that the jobs situation will not change enough to keep scores of American cities from double digit unemployment between now and the end of the year.

State and Area	Civilian Labor Force	% Unemployed
Alabama	2,237,001	8.2
Anniston	44,794	9.5
Auburn	73,662	7.2
Birmingham	548,020	7.8
Daphne	98,935	7.4
Decatur	70,097	6.4
Dothan	63,724	7.1
Florence	64,538	7.8
Gadsden	41,195	10.0
Huntsville	222,811	6.3
Mobile	190,693	12.2
Montgomery	173,266	10.0
Tuscaloosa	117,847	9.0
Alaska	351,838	10.8
Anchorage	192,316	11.0
Fairbanks	45,158	8.9
Arizona	3,563,645	10.9
Flagstaff	70,052	13.6
Lake Havasu City	88,011	12.5
Phoenix	2,519,889	10.3
Prescott	109,029	9.6
Sierra Vista	51,794	9.3
Tucson	500,543	10.5
Yuma	98,174	24.8
Arkansas	1,322,768	7.5
Fayetteville	274,123	5.7
Fort Smith	115,571	7.2
Hot Springs	41,575	9.6
Jonesboro	65,692	6.7
Little Rock	345,941	8.3
Pine Bluff	33,690	9.3
California	18,885,235	13.7
Bakersfield	370,022	16.5
Chico	93,223	11.1
El Centro	71,499	26.8
Fresno	447,392	13.5
Hanford	56,513	13.1
Los Angeles	6,518,559	16.8
Madera	60,808	13.0
Merced	112,344	14.5
Modesto	236,000	13.6
Napa	72,681	10.4
Oxnard	412,170	11.3
Redding	71,688	10.5
Riverside	2,056,551	13.4
Sacramento	1,086,300	11.5
Salinas	198,393	12.1
San Diego	1,576,739	12.3
San Francisco	2,518,800	11.1
San Jose	1,067,767	9.4
San Luis Obispo	131,237	9.9
Santa Cruz	130,015	11.2
Santa Maria	215,167	10.0
Santa Rosa	252,982	9.8
Stockton	322,382	14.8
Vallejo	203,209	12.4
Visalia	191,143	16.2
Yuba City	70,719	13.5
Colorado	3,102,029	7.4
Boulder	189,458	6.6
Colorado Springs	355,801	6.9
Denver	1,676,146	7.8
Fort Collins	198,761	6.2
Grand Junction	76,353	6.9
Greeley	165,644	7.2
Pueblo	74,759	7.9
Connecticut	1,929,934	10.3
Bridgeport	465,712	10.6
Danbury	108,110	9.0
Hartford	641,603	10.1
New Haven	333,969	9.7
Norwich	143,400	12.4
Waterbury	112,782	11.9
Delaware	510,905	10.6
Dover	86,412	11.5
Salisbury	202,671	8.6
District of Columbia	399,066	8.9
Washington	3,453,634	7.9
Florida	10,032,703	11.5
Cape Coral	333,436	10.7
Crestview	123,185	7.0
Deltona	294,054	10.5
Gainesville	136,172	7.5
Homosassa Springs	45,131	11.2
Jacksonville	765,557	8.8
Lakeland	304,430	13.2
Miami	3,038,739	13.2
Naples	170,348	10.4
North Port	351,274	9.4
Ocala	137,147	9.3
Orlando	1,353,072	15.3
Palm Bay	281,541	9.2
Panama City	86,741	7.7
Pensacola	221,910	8.5
Port St. Lucie	213,040	10.2
Punta Gorda	70,312	10.0
Sebastian	63,135	10.4
Sebring	35,124	10.3
Tallahassee	181,584	8.4
Tampa	1,520,131	10.1
The Villages	31,644	10.0
Georgia	5,018,467	8.0
Albany	65,019	8.7
Athens	95,170	6.6
Atlanta	3,053,798	8.5
Augusta	262,867	7.3
Brunswick	47,141	7.9
Columbus	119,373	8.5
Dalton	56,724	7.9
Gainesville	98,773	5.6
Hinesville	33,990	6.5
Macon	99,713	8.1
Rome	44,138	7.1
Savannah	184,218	8.4
Valdosta	62,302	7.2
Warner Robins	81,429	6.3
Hawaii	638,063	13.1
Kahului	82,486	21.3
Urban Honolulu	432,741	11.1
Idaho	912,822	4.7
Boise City	392,137	5.1
Coeur d’Alene	80,708	6.0
Idaho Falls	77,992	3.1
Lewiston	30,369	5.3
Pocatello	40,858	4.5
Twin Falls	54,950	4.4
Illinois	6,314,164	11.3
Bloomington	89,433	8.0
Carbondale	58,094	9.2
Champaign	117,239	7.9
Chicago	4,797,284	12.0
Danville	32,306	9.9
Davenport	186,931	9.1
Decatur	46,688	12.0
Kankakee	55,044	9.5
Peoria	164,881	10.6
Rockford	165,015	13.8
Springfield	105,413	9.1
Indiana	3,355,888	7.9
Bloomington	75,555	6.8
Columbus	44,229	6.8
Elkhart	107,708	8.1
Evansville	165,057	6.9
Fort Wayne	217,213	8.2
Indianapolis	1,089,032	7.7
Kokomo	37,216	8.8
Lafayette	106,846	7.1
Michigan City	48,737	10.5
Muncie	52,338	8.2
South Bend	155,029	10.1
Terre Haute	73,713	8.1
Iowa	1,644,385	6.5
Ames	54,049	5.0
Cedar Rapids	141,917	7.6
Des Moines	349,712	6.9
Dubuque	53,525	7.0
Iowa City	97,864	6.1
Sioux City	92,140	5.8
Waterloo	86,486	6.9
Kansas	1,514,277	7.7
Lawrence	62,736	8.2
Manhattan	42,871	7.4
Topeka	121,148	6.9
Wichita	326,353	10.9
Kentucky	1,879,153	6.2
Bowling Green	71,696	6.2
Elizabethtown	61,756	6.2
Lexington	250,658	5.5
Louisville	629,900	6.4
Owensboro	52,507	5.4
Louisiana	2,037,928	9.9
Alexandria	61,690	7.4
Baton Rouge	407,081	9.1
Hammond	54,145	12.1
Houma	86,424	8.5
Lafayette	211,310	9.1
Lake Charles	102,536	9.8
Monroe	80,962	8.3
New Orleans	574,171	11.9
Shreveport	183,710	9.4
Maine	716,038	9.4
Bangor	71,103	8.7
Lewiston	57,693	10
Portland	214,289	9.8
Maryland	3,281,791	7.7
Baltimore	1,523,429	7.5
California	55,629	6.0
Cumberland	42,374	8.2
Hagerstown	129,703	7.5
Massachusetts	3,722,933	16.2
Barnstable Town	129,195	15.4
Boston	2,748,032	15.5
Leominster	80,658	17.8
New Bedford	85,880	18.8
Pittsfield	42,383	17.0
Springfield	359,819	16.4
Worcester	358,377	14.9
Michigan	4,872,075	9.5
Ann Arbor	203,278	7.9
Battle Creek	62,044	10.9
Bay City	49,783	9.5
Detroit	2,041,892	10.1
Flint	186,176	11.8
Grand Rapids	592,088	8.4
Jackson	75,279	10.1
Kalamazoo	171,291	8.7
Lansing	243,556	8.4
Midland	40,197	7.9
Monroe	73,781	9.2
Muskegon	80,265	12.8
Niles	76,450	9.9
Saginaw	86,928	10.6
Minnesota	3,122,326	7.4
Duluth	139,601	8.7
Mankato	62,886	6.2
Minneapolis	2,029,218	8.2
Rochester	126,085	6.6
St. Cloud	116,125	6.1
Mississippi	1,250,601	11.5
Gulfport	164,551	12.1
Hattiesburg	66,768	10.3
Jackson	260,950	10.7
Missouri	3,104,813	7.2
Cape Girardeau	44,088	6.5
Columbia	97,009	5.1
Jefferson City	75,455	5.6
Joplin	84,005	6.6
Kansas City	1,158,309	7.6
St. Joseph	63,667	5.5
St. Louis	1,477,354	8.2
Springfield	237,829	6.3
Montana	544,582	6.0
Billings	89,572	5.9
Great Falls	39,075	6.1
Missoula	66,802	6.3
Nebraska	1,062,027	5.0
Grand Island	45,440	5.4
Lincoln	197,214	5.0
Omaha	511,749	5.9
Nevada	1,492,874	14.2
Carson City	25,300	8.0
Las Vegas	1,102,994	16.4
Reno	244,774	8.1
New Hampshire	748,051	7.9
Dover	82,348	8.2
Manchester	119,554	8.0
Portsmouth	75,668	7.7
New Jersey	4,626,988	14.0
Atlantic City	128,381	24.0
Ocean City	47,696	15.0
Trenton	207,226	10.9
Vineland	66,756	14.6
New Mexico	915,503	13.3
Albuquerque	416,079	13.1
Farmington	47,737	16.0
Las Cruces	90,718	13.0
Santa Fe	70,153	13.5
New York	9,688,730	16.0
Albany	465,851	11.5
Binghamton	111,402	12.5
Buffalo	573,947	14.1
Elmira	38,344	12.5
Glens Falls	60,750	11.1
Ithaca	51,045	9.9
Kingston	93,706	12.4
New York	10,094,064	16.4
Rochester	529,306	12.9
Syracuse	316,645	13.0
Utica	133,835	12.2
Watertown	44,457	12.3
North Carolina	4,965,432	8.9
Asheville	228,796	9.4
Burlington	81,414	8.8
Charlotte	1,361,084	9.3
Durham	294,946	7.9
Fayetteville	143,068	11.6
Goldsboro	48,216	8.2
Greensboro	361,567	10.3
Greenville	85,714	8.8
Hickory	166,984	9.0
Jacksonville	64,183	8.3
New Bern	50,621	7.5
Raleigh	707,515	8.0
Rocky Mount	63,807	11.3
Wilmington	149,668	8.3
Winston-Salem	319,173	8.9
North Dakota	409,533	6.4
Bismarck	70,037	4.9
Fargo	141,738	5.1
Grand Forks	53,888	5.8
Ohio	5,727,517	9.1
Akron	347,615	9.1
Canton-Massillon	194,703	8.8
Cincinnati	1,111,458	7.8
Cleveland	1,021,874	11.7
Columbus	1,081,435	8.2
Dayton	392,688	8.7
Lima	47,436	8.7
Mansfield	52,026	9.3
Springfield	63,041	8.4
Toledo	301,684	9.6
Weirton	50,226	10.7
Youngstown	229,183	11.8
Oklahoma	1,812,336	7.1
Enid	25,350	6.6
Lawton	50,226	7.3
Oklahoma City	678,629	7.1
Tulsa	472,144	7.6
Oregon	2,082,253	10.6
Albany	57,916	10.5
Bend	94,470	10.6
Corvallis	44,796	8.4
Eugene	182,420	10.6
Grants Pass	34,321	10.7
Medford	102,087	10.9
Portland	1,325,165	11.1
Salem	197,009	9.4
Pennsylvania	6,555,812	14.1
Allentown	450,595	13.9
Altoona	60,254	13.2
Bloomsburg	43,348	11.1
Chambersburg	78,410	12.2
East Stroudsburg	82,318	17.3
Erie	128,366	15.1
Gettysburg	56,167	10.3
Harrisburg	309,821	11.8
Johnstown	57,418	14.6
Lancaster	298,444	11.2
Lebanon	73,545	12.0
Philadelphia	3,187,644	14.1
Pittsburgh	1,220,757	14.5
Reading	229,109	13.4
Scranton	268,985	15.7
State College	75,437	9.6
Williamsport	53,378	13.4
York	238,292	12.0
Rhode Island	564,178	11.4
Providence	698,980	12.6
South Carolina	2,484,700	8.8
Charleston	411,389	9.2
Columbia	418,343	7.7
Florence	104,237	8.4
Greenville	457,562	7.9
Hilton Head Island	97,676	7.0
Myrtle Beach	209,023	10.6
Spartanburg	170,593	9.9
Sumter	46,245	9.7
South Dakota	474,154	6.0
Rapid City	76,334	6.8
Sioux Falls	160,033	5.5
Tennessee	3,173,394	9.9
Chattanooga	273,079	7.9
Clarksville	109,741	9.2
Cleveland	58,013	8.6
Jackson	61,474	9.5
Johnson City	85,143	8.5
Kingsport	130,487	8.8
Knoxville	409,283	7.9
Memphis	628,584	13.0
Morristown	50,954	8.9
Nashville	1,027,942	9.8
Texas	13,846,028	8.2
Abilene	77,159	5.9
Amarillo	125,356	5.1
Austin	1,225,085	6.7
Beaumont	168,490	11.9
Brownsville	164,664	11.0
College Station	132,611	5.8
Corpus Christi	201,053	10.0
Dallas	3,946,657	7.5
El Paso	358,376	8.7
Houston	3,386,174	9.4
Killeen	174,470	7.1
Laredo	115,608	9.1
Longview	95,031	8.5
Lubbock	159,034	6.4
McAllen	350,956	12.5
Midland	102,658	9.4
Odessa	85,549	12.6
San Angelo	52,010	7.3
San Antonio	1,194,989	7.9
Sherman	63,671	5.9
Texarkana	64,087	7.6
Tyler	106,147	7.2
Victoria	44,880	9.4
Waco	126,324	6.5
Wichita Falls	63,009	7.1
Utah	1,632,582	4.6
Logan	69,376	2.7
Ogden	344,558	4.0
Provo	315,453	3.6
St. George	77,962	5.2
Salt Lake City	677,351	5.3
Vermont	343,764	8.2
Burlington	124,218	7.6
Virginia	4,374,802	8.0
Blacksburg	85,030	6.9
Charlottesville	119,984	7.6
Harrisonburg	64,240	6.7
Lynchburg	121,105	7.5
Richmond	686,216	8.9
Roanoke	155,066	7.7
Staunton	63,236	6.3
Virginia Beach	872,954	9.3
Winchester	70,977	6.2
Washington	3,994,934	10.2
Bellingham	121,221	11.8
Bremerton	135,709	9.5
Kennewick	157,337	10.9
Longview	50,882	11.5
Mount Vernon	65,887	12.2
Olympia	149,863	10.4
Seattle	2,197,638	9.3
Spokane	285,607	11.4
Walla Walla	32,057	8.5
Wenatchee	67,316	10
Yakima	138,416	12.6
West Virginia	767,127	9.7
Beckley	46,956	10.2
Charleston	92,082	10.7
Huntington	144,285	8.9
Morgantown	68,188	8.6
Parkersburg	39,242	9.8
Wheeling	60,953	10.4
Wisconsin	3,066,529	7.0
Appleton	127,066	5.9
Eau Claire	88,580	6.7
Fond du Lac	57,440	5.8
Green Bay	171,606	6.6
Janesville	84,265	8.2
La Crosse	73,768	5.9
Madison	370,524	5.9
Milwaukee	817,705	8.4
Oshkosh	90,589	6.0
Racine	100,512	7.7
Sheboygan	61,704	6.2
Wausau	72,347	5.5
Wyoming	299,787	6.8
Casper	40,065	10.2
Cheyenne	49,070	5.8
Puerto Rico	1,042,138	7.3
Aguadilla	80,283	8.0
Arecibo	51,800	7.2
Guayama	18,387	7.2
Mayaguez	25,507	7.1
Ponce	87,327	7.4
San German	32,294	7.5
San Juan	708,940	7.1

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