While unemployment rates have improved in most metro areas compared to a year ago, there is still significant geographic variation. The Minneapolis area had the lowest unemployment rate in November at 5.1%, while Las Vegas continued to have the highest at 12.5%. Twenty-six of the 27 metro areas reviewed saw decreases in their unemployment rates over the last year, with only Chicago seeing an increase. Las Vegas saw the greatest improvement, with its unemployment rate falling 2.4 percentage points from 14.9% to 12.5% over the year.

1. Metro Area Unemployment January 2012 National Association of REALTORS® Research Division Compilation of Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

2. Data Highlights While the unemployment rate is not yet back to normal in most areas, improvement is unmistakable and fairly well-spread geographically. Among the 27 metro areas reviewed, the Minneapolis area had the lowest unemployment rate, 5.1 percent in November, while Las Vegas continues to have the highest, at 12.5 percent in November. Both the Washington, DC and Boston areas had unemployment rates under 6 percent in November 2011. Looking at changes in the last year, 26 large metro areas reviewed saw decreases, or improvement, in the unemployment rate. Among those reviewed, only the Chicago metro area saw an increase, or worsening, in the unemployment rate in that time period. By comparison, the unemployment rate in the US decreased by 1.1 percentage points in the year. Las Vegas, NV had the greatest improvement in unemployment rate over the year. The unemployment rate there fell by 2.4 percentage points, from 14.9 percent to 12.5 percent. While Las Vegas saw an increase in the number of employed persons and a decline in the number of those unemployed, the balance was such that the labor force shrank slightly. By comparison, the US labor force was roughly unchanged in the same period. Payroll job growth is pictured in the graphs that follow. Fifteen areas saw job gains in the month while 12 areas saw job losses. From one year ago, 23 metro areas have job gains.

4. Large Metros Unemployment Rate in November 2011

5. PHXR Unemployment Rate, Phoenix-Mesa AZ % PHXR.EMF (EMPLR) PHXR 10512-11011

6. LASR Unemployment Rate, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA % LASR.EMF (EMPLR) LASR 10512-11011

7. SDIR Unemployment Rate, San Diego CA % SDIR.EMF (EMPLR) SDIR 10512-11011

8. SFCR Unemployment Rate, San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA % SFCR.EMF (EMPLR) SFCR 10512-11011

9. DNVR Unemployment Rate, Denver-Aurora, CO % DNVR.EMF (EMPLR) DNVR 10512-11011

10. WAAR Unemployment Rate, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MetDiv % WAAR.EMF (EMPLR) WAAR 10512-11011

11. ATLR Unemployment Rate, Atlanta GA % ATLR.EMF (EMPLR) ATLR 10512-11011

12. CHIR Unemployment Rate, Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI % CHIR.EMF (EMPLR) CHIR 10512-11011

13. NORR Unemployment Rate, New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA % NORR.EMF (EMPLR) NORR 10512-11011

14. BCQR Unemployment Rate, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division % BCQR.EMF (EMPLR) BCQR 10512-11011

15. DWLR Unemployment Rate, Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI % DWLR.EMF (EMPLR) DWLR 10512-11011

16. MSPR Unemployment Rate, Minneapolis-St Paul MN-WI % MSPR.EMF (EMPLR) MSPR 10512-11011

17. STLR Unemployment Rate, St Louis MO-IL % STLR.EMF (EMPLR) STLR 10512-11011

18. LPPR Unemployment Rate, Las Vegas-Paradise-Pahrump, NV CSA % LPPR.EMF (EMPLR) LPPR 10512-11011

19. NYLR Unemployment Rate, New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island NY-NJ % NYLR.EMF (EMPLR) NYLR 10512-11011

20. CGRR Unemployment Rate, Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill NC-SC % CGRR.EMF (EMPLR) CGRR 10512-11011

21. CMWR Unemployment Rate, Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN CSA % CMWR.EMF (EMPLR) CMWR 10512-11011

22. CVLR Unemployment Rate, Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH % CVLR.EMF (EMPLR) CVLR 10512-11011

23. COLR Unemployment Rate, Columbus OH % COLR.EMF (EMPLR) COLR 10512-11011

24. PORR Unemployment Rate, Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton OR-WA % PORR.EMF (EMPLR) PORR 10512-11011

25. PCWR Unemployment Rate, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD % PCWR.EMF (EMPLR) PCWR 10512-11011

26. PITR Unemployment Rate, Pittsburgh PA % PITR.EMF (EMPLR) PITR 10512-11011

27. MPHR Unemployment Rate, Memphis TN-AR-MS % MPHR.EMF (EMPLR) MPHR 10512-11011

28. HTNR Unemployment Rate, Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX % HTNR.EMF (EMPLR) HTNR 10512-11011

29. DFWR Unemployment Rate, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX % DFWR.EMF (EMPLR) DFWR 10512-11011

30. STWR Unemployment Rate, Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA % STWR.EMF (EMPLR) STWR 10512-11011

31. MWKR Unemployment Rate, Milwaukee-Waukesha WI % MWKR.EMF (EMPLR) MWKR 10512-11011