The COVID-19 pandemic caused unemployment levels not seen since the Great Depression, starting in April last year, when it hit 14.7%. By March 2021, the jobless figure had rebounded to 6.2%. That was still well above the 3.5% level of February 2020, which was the best in 50 years. The job recovery has been uneven. Some cities still suffer from double-digit jobless rates. In one, the unemployment level is as high as some years during the Great Depression.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently issued its Metropolitan Employment and Unemployment Summary for March 2021. In a sign that the jobs situation in the United States continues to be troubling, during March, unemployment was higher compared to the same month last year in 308 of the 389 metropolitan areas, lower in 75 areas and unchanged in six of them.
El Centro, California, had the highest unemployment rate in March at 15.7%, while Logan, Utah, had the lowest rate at 2.1%. That means the rate in Logan was much lower than the national rate at the peak of the recovery from the Great Recession, which occurred in late 2019 and early 2020.
The Great Depression ran from 1930 to 1938. The unemployment rate rose and fell on sharp dips in gross domestic product and minor recoveries. The worst year was 1933, when the jobless rate was 24.9%. The “better” years were 1931 (15.9%), 1936 (16.9%) and 1937 (14.3%). These put the El Centro rate in a terrible context.
El Centro is poor compared to most of the nation. The median household income in the city is $48,472, about three-quarters of the national figure. The 25.1% poverty rate is about double the national figure. According to media reports, it has had the highest jobless rate in the country many months since 2014. El Centro’s jobs market is dominated by the agricultural industry. Much of the work is seasonal and depends on the demand for farm produce.
Due to the state of El Centro’s economy and its components, the city is unlikely to recover.
Click here to see which state has the highest unemployment rate.
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