Over-the-year metro area employment changes, March 2010

In March, the largest over-the-year percentage losses in employment among the nation's 322 metropolitan areas were reported in Steubenville-Weirton, Ohio-West Virginia (‑7.4 percent); Farmington, New Mexico, and Odessa, Texas (‑6.8 percent each); and Grand Junction, Colorado, and Yuma, Arizona (‑6.6 percent each).

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The largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment were reported in Lawrence, Kansas (+5.9 percent), Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington (+5.5 percent), Ocean City, New Jersey (+3.6 percent), Manhattan, Kansas (+3.4 percent), and Yakima, Washington (+3.2 percent).

Over-the-year, nonfarm employment declined in all 36 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2009. The largest over-the-year percentage decreases in employment in these large metropolitan areas were posted in Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada (‑5.7 percent), Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan (‑4.7 percent), and three metropolitan areas in California: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (‑4.5 percent), San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont (‑3.9 percent), and Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville (‑3.5 percent).

In March, 322 metropolitan areas reported over-the-year decreases in nonfarm payroll employment, 45 reported increases, and 5 remained unchanged.

These data are from the BLS Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) program. For more information, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — March 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-0534.