The unemployment rate continues to decline in July 2015 for most of the metropolitan areas within the United States. 92% of the metropolitan areas in the Nation experienced lower unemployment rates than a year earlier while only 20 metro areas showed higher rates. In 8 out of 389 metropolitan areas, rates were unchanged. Metro areas within both Dakotas had unemployment rates below 3 percent, as well as Lincoln in Nebraska and, Ames and Iowa City. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), “a total of 187 areas had July Unemployment rates below the US figure of 5.6 percent, 185 areas had rates above it and 15 areas had rates equal to that of the nation”.

The highest unemployment rate, locally speaking, was in Yuma Arizona, which registered 26.6 percent for the month of July 2015. El Centro in California had the second highest unemployment rate, 24.2 percent. Otherwise, the lowest rate (2.3 percent) was in Bismarck, North Dakota. Following data from BLS, “of the 51 metropolitan areas with a 2010 Census population of 1 million or more, Austin-Round Rock, Texas, had the lowest unemployment rate in July, 3.5 percent”.

In regards to employment levels, the largest over-the-year increase happened in New York-Newark-Jersey City where the difference in July 2015 is 164,400 more jobs than in July 2014. The Los Angeles metropolitan area added 157,500 over-the-year. In Texas, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington also augmented the payroll by 121,700 jobs over-the-year. On the other hand, the largest decrease in employment level occurred in New Orleans-Metairie where the metric contracted by 3,800 jobs. This contraction also happened in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (Iowa and Illinois) in which the decrease was around 3,600 jobs. Barnstable Town in Massachusetts also declined its employment level by 3,000.

Although these data have not been adjusted by season yet, estimates are derived from a comprehensive model-based approach that covers several data sources. In fact, since the average over-the-year change in state rates is 0.7 percentage points, current estimates are somehow reliable. The Local and Urban Statistics (LAUS) program at BLS utilizes a method that aggregates weighted data from the Current Population Survey (Household data), the Current Employment Statistics (Establishment data), and State Unemployment Insurance programs. Estimates for the State-level data are produced by using time-series models, though. The BLS uses 90 percent confidence level when reporting statistically significant data.

Below are the graphs for the unemployment rate in the fifty states and its correspondent metro areas.

Alabama
Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville.
Auburn-Opelika
Birmingham-Hoover.
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley.
Decatur.
Dothan.
Florence-Muscle Shoals.
Gadsden.
Huntsville.
Mobile.
Montgomery.
Tuscaloosa.

Alaska.
Anchorage.
Fairbanks.

Arizona.
Flagstaff.
Lake Havasu City-Kingman.
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale.
Prescott.
Sierra Vista-Douglas.
Tucson.
Yuma.

Arkansas.
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers.
Fort Smith.
Hot Springs.
Jonesboro.
Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway.
Pine Bluff.

California.
Bakersfield.
Chico.
El Centro.
Fresno.
Hanford-Corcoran.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim.
Madera.
Merced.
Modesto.
Napa.
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura.
Redding.
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario.
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade.
Salinas.
San Diego-Carlsbad.
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara.

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles- Arroyo Grande.
Santa Cruz-Watsonville.
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara.
Santa Rosa.
Stockton-Lodi
Vallejo-Fairfield.
Visalia-Porterville.
Yuba City.

Colorado.
Boulder
Colorado Springs.
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood.
Fort Collins.
Grand Junction.
Greeley.
Pueblo.

Connecticut.
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk.
Danbury.
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford.
New Haven.
Norwich-New London-Westerly.
Waterbury.

Delaware.
Dover.
Salisbury (1).

District of Columbia.
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria.

Florida.
Cape Coral-Fort Myers
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin.
Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach.
Gainesville.
Homosassa Springs.
Jacksonville.
Lakeland-Winter Haven.
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach.
Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island.
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton
Ocala.
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford.
Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville.
Panama City.
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent.
Port St. Lucie.
Punta Gorda.
Sebastian-Vero Beach.
Sebring.
Tallahassee.
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.
The Villages.

Georgia.
Albany.
Athens-Clarke County.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell.
Augusta-Richmond County.
Brunswick.
Columbus.
Dalton.
Gainesville.
Hinesville.
Macon.
Rome
Savannah.
Valdosta.
Warner Robins

Hawaii.
Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina.
Urban Honolulu.

Idaho.
Boise City.
Coeur d’Alene.
Idaho Falls.
Lewiston
Pocatello.

Illinois.
Bloomington.
Carbondale-Marion.
Champaign-Urbana.
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin.
Danville
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island (1).
Decatur.
Kankakee
Peoria.
Rockford.
Springfield.

Indiana.
Bloomington.
Columbus.
Elkhart-Goshen.
Evansville.
Fort Wayne.
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson.
Kokomo.
Lafayette-West Lafayette.
Michigan City-La Porte.
Muncie.
South Bend-Mishawaka.
Terre Haute.

Iowa.
Ames.
Cedar Rapids.
Des Moines-West Des Moines.
Dubuque.
Iowa City.
Sioux City.
Waterloo-Cedar Falls.

Kansas.
Lawrence
Manhattan.
Topeka
Wichita.

Kentucky
Bowling Green.
Elizabethtown-Fort Knox.
Lexington-Fayette.
Louisville/Jefferson County.
Owensboro.

Louisiana.
Alexandria.
Baton Rouge.
Hammond.
Houma-Thibodaux.
Lafayette
Lake Charles.
Monroe.
New Orleans-Metairie.
Shreveport-Bossier City.

Maine.
Bangor.
Lewiston-Auburn.
Portland-South Portland.

Maryland.
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson.
California-Lexington Park.
Cumberland.
Hagerstown-Martinsburg.

Massachusetts.
Barnstable Town.
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua.
Leominster-Gardner.
New Bedford.
Pittsfield.
Springfield.
Worcester.

Michigan.
Ann Arbor.
Battle Creek.
Bay City.
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn
Flint.
Grand Rapids-Wyoming.
Jackson.
Kalamazoo-Portage.
Lansing-East Lansing.
Midland.
Monroe.
Muskegon.
Niles-Benton Harbor.
Saginaw.

Minnesota.
Duluth.
Mankato-North Mankato.
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington.
Rochester.
St. Cloud.

Mississippi.
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula.
Hattiesburg.
Jackson.

Missouri.
Cape Girardeau.
Columbia.
Jefferson City
Joplin
Kansas City.
St. Joseph.
St. Louis (2).
Springfield.

Montana.
Billings.
Great Falls.
Missoula.

Nebraska.
Grand Island.
Lincoln.
Omaha-Council Bluffs

Nevada.
Carson City.
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise.
Reno.

New Hampshire.
Dover-Durham.
Manchester.
Portsmouth

New Jersey.
Atlantic City-Hammonton.
Ocean City.
Trenton.
Vineland-Bridgeton.

New Mexico.
Albuquerque.
Farmington.
Las Cruces.
Santa Fe.

New York.
Albany-Schenectady-Troy.
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls.
Elmira.
Glens Falls.
Ithaca.
Kingston.
New York-Newark-Jersey City.
Rochester.
Syracuse.
Utica-Rome.
Watertown-Fort Drum.

North Carolina.
Asheville.
Burlington.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
Durham-Chapel Hill.
Fayetteville.
Goldsboro
Greensboro-High Point.
Greenville.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton.
Jacksonville.
New Bern.
Raleigh.
Rocky Mount.
Wilmington.
Winston-Salem.

North Dakota.
Bismarck
Fargo.
Grand Forks.

Ohio.
Akron.
Canton-Massillon.
Cincinnati.
Cleveland-Elyria.
Columbus.
Dayton.
Lima.
Mansfield
Springfield.
Toledo.
Weirton-Steubenville (1)
Youngstown-Warren-Boardman.

Oklahoma
Lawton.
Oklahoma City
Tulsa.

Oregon.
Albany
Bend-Redmond.
Corvallis.
Eugene.
Grants Pass
Medford.
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro.
Salem.

Pennsylvania.
Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton.
Altoona.
Bloomsburg-Berwick.
Chambersburg-Waynesboro.
East Stroudsburg.
Erie.
Gettysburg.
Harrisburg-Carlisle.
Johnstown.
Lancaster.
Lebanon.
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington.
Pittsburgh.
Reading.
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre–Hazleton.
State College.
Williamsport.
York-Hanover.

Rhode Island.
Providence-Warwick.

South Carolina.
Charleston-North Charleston.
Columbia
Florence.
Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin.
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort.
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach
Spartanburg.
Sumter.

South Dakota.
Rapid City.
Sioux Falls.

Tennessee.
Chattanooga.
Clarksville.
Cleveland.
Jackson
Johnson City.
Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol.
Knoxville.
Memphis.
Morristown.
Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro– Franklin.

Texas.
Abilene.
Amarillo.
Austin-Round Rock.
Beaumont-Port Arthur.
Brownsville-Harlingen.
College Station-Bryan.
Corpus Christi.
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington.
El Paso.
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land.
Killeen-Temple.
Laredo.
Longview.
Lubbock.
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission.
Midland.
Odessa.
San Angelo.
San Antonio-New Braunfels.
Sherman-Denison.
Texarkana.
Tyler.
Victoria
Waco
Wichita Falls.

Utah.
Logan.
Ogden-Clearfield.
Provo-Orem
St. George
Salt Lake City.

Vermont
Burlington-South Burlington.

Virginia.
Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford.
Charlottesville
Harrisonburg.
Lynchburg.
Richmond.
Roanoke.
Staunton-Waynesboro.
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News
Winchester.

Washington.
Bellingham
Bremerton-Silverdale.
Kennewick-Richland
Longview
Mount Vernon-Anacortes.
Olympia-Tumwater.
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue.
Spokane-Spokane Valley.
Walla Walla.
Wenatchee.
Yakima.

West Virginia.
Beckley.
Charleston.
Huntington-Ashland.
Morgantown.
Parkersburg-Vienna.
Wheeling

Wisconsin.
Appleton.
Eau Claire.
Fond du Lac.
Green Bay
Janesville-Beloit.
La Crosse-Onalaska.
Madison.
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis.
Oshkosh-Neenah.
Racine.
Sheboygan.
Wausau.

Wyoming.
Casper.
Cheyenne.

Puerto Rico.
Aguadilla-Isabela
Arecibo.
Guayama.
Mayaguez.
Ponce.
San German.
San Juan-Carolina-Caguas.