A new study shows Los Angeles and Orange counties suffered the worst jump in joblessness in the past year among the nation’s biggest job markets. The Inland Empire had the sixth-largest increase.
Strict pandemic restrictions throttled California’s economy in the past year. Here’s how the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked unemployment among the 51 largest U.S. metropolitan areas for the year ended in January …
Los Angeles-Orange County: 11.5% unemployment rate — the highest among the metros vs. 4.4% 12 months earlier. The year’s 7.1 percentage-point increase was the largest in the national ranking.
Inland Empire: 8.6% — No. 6 of the 51 vs. 4.1% in January 2020. The 4.5-point increase ranked No. 6 nationally.
Elsewhere in California …
San Diego: 8.1% — No. 11 vs. 3.4% a year ago. The 4.7-point increase ranked No. 5 nationally.
San Francisco: 6.7% — No. 20 vs. 2.8% a year ago. The 3.9-point increase ranked No. 12.
San Jose: 5.8% — No. 31 vs. 2.8% a year ago. The 3-point increase ranked No. 24.
Sacramento: 7.6% — No. 14 vs. 4.0% a year ago. The 3.6 point-increase ranked No. 15.
Click on the circles in the chart above to get stats on all 51 metros. Highlights of the study …
Lowest rate nationally? Salt Lake City at 3.5%; Birmingham at 3.7%; Jacksonville at 4.4%; Nashville at 4.4%.
Highest rates? After Los Angeles-Orange County, Las Vegas at 9.9%; New York at 9.6%; New Orleans at 9.1%.
Smallest gains in 12 months? Detroit, up 0.7 points to 5.3%; Cincinnati, up 0.9 points to 5.3%; Birmingham, up 0.9 points to 3.7%; Jacksonville, up 0.9 points to 4.4%.
Largest gains? After Los Angeles-Orange County, Las Vegas, up 5.9 points to 9.9%; New York, up 5.8 points to 9.6%; Chicago, up 4.8 points to 8.7%.
Jonathan Lansner is business columnist for the Southern California News Group. Jon can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
Source: Orange County Register
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