Nonmetro Unemployment Jumps
The nonmetro unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent in
the first quarter of 2009, up from 5.5 percent a year
earlier (the first full quarter of the current recession).
This was the highest nonmetro first quarter unemployment
rate since 1987, and the largest percentage point first
quarter increase since the beginning of the ERS data
series in 1973.
Metro unemployment also rose sharply from 5.2 percent
to 8.9 percent between the first quarters of 2008 and
2009. The metro unemployment rate is currently higher
than the nonmetro rate. In the 2001 recession, the unemployment
rate was higher in metro areas
than in nonmetro areas. It is still unclear
whether unemployment rates will follow the same pattern
in this recession.
The nonmetro adjusted unemployment rate increased from
10.3 to 15.8 percent between the first quarters of 2008
and 2009. The adjusted rate includes workers who
are involuntarily part-time and marginal attached workers-those
who want to work and were available, but had not actively
searched for a job in the past 4 weeks. The metro adjusted
rate increased from 9.4 percent to 15.9 over the same
period.
Download the current metro/nonmetro
unemployment estimates and adjusted estimates from
the Current Population Survey.
 d
Unemployment Rate Highest in Michigan
Nationally, the unemployment rate was
8.8 percent (not seasonally adjusted) for the first quarter
of 2009. The unemployment rates ranged from highs in
Michigan (12.9 percent) and Oregon (11.8 percent), to
lows in Nebraska (4.9 percent) and Wyoming (4.9 percent).
The States with the highest nonmetro unemployment rates
were South Carolina (14.7 percent), Michigan (14.4 percent),
and Oregon (14.2 percent). In South Carolina , employment
declines were primarily in retail trade, manufacturing,
and the public sector. In Michigan , layoffs in auto
assembly and parts manufacturing have hit both nonmetro
and metro areas. The lowest nonmetro unemployment rate
was 4.8 percent in Nebraska . In metro areas, Michigan
had the highest rate (12.5 percent), followed by Rhode
Island (11.3 percent), and Oregon (11.1 percent).
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