Employment and unemployment in the Southeast, January 2011

In January 2011, among Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the Southeast, Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina, recorded the lowest unemployment rate (7.6 percent).

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The unemployment rate in Palm Coast, Florida, was 16.0 percent, the highest in the State of Florida and the Southeast.

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Over the year, of all reporting metropolitan areas, nonfarm employment increased in 29 of the 36 metropolitan areas with annual average employment levels above 750,000 in 2010. The large area in the Southeast with the largest over-the-year percentage increases in employment was Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida (+2.1 percent). The largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among large areas in the Southeast occurred in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia (−0.6 percent).

These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Current Employment Statistics (State and Metro Area) programs. Data for the most recent are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment — January 2011" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-11-0352. The Southeast BLS Information Office has links to additional data for the Southeast region.