Unemployment rates in cities in the South (AP)

Unemployment rates fell in three-quarters of large U.S. cities in October, a sign that the job market is picking up broadly across the country. The Labor Department said Tuesday that unemployment rates fell in 281 metro areas. They rose in 57 and were unchanged in 34. That's slightly better than September's showing and is the largest number of cities to report a drop since April. The metro area unemployment data aren't adjusted for seasonal variations, such as hiring for the winter holidays, and so they can be volatile. Nationwide, the unemployment rate was unchanged in October at 9 percent. Last week, the government said the nationwide rate fell to 8.6 percent in November, the lowest level in 2 1/2 years. Employers added about 120,000 net jobs. Still, a big reason the unemployment rate fell was because more people said they have given up on their job searches and dropped out of the work force. Below are the unemployment rates in October, for states and cities in the South: Metro Area Unemployment Rates, South Unemployment rates by state and city Figures in percentages Oct. 2011 Sept. 2011 Oct. 2010 Alabama 8.7 9.6 8.9 Anniston-Oxford 8.7 9.6 8.9 Auburn-Opelika 7.1 7.9 7.5 Birmingham-Hoover 8 8.9 8.5 Decatur 8.6 9.7 9.1 Dothan 8.1 9 8 Florence-Muscle Shoals 8 9.2 8.1 Gadsden 9 9.9 8.7 Huntsville 7.4 8.1 7.1 Mobile 10 10.8 9.6 Montgomery 8.9 9.8 8.8 Tuscaloosa 8 8.9 8.1 Arkansas 7.4 7.8 7.1 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 5.9 6.3 5.9 Fort Smith 7.9 8 7.7 Hot Springs 7.3 7.7 7.3 Jonesboro 6.9 7.4 6.8 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 6.8 7.1 6.4 Pine Bluff 9.5 10.1 8.8 Delaware 7.5 7.9 8.2 Dover 7.5 7.9 8.2 Washington, D.C. 10.4 11 9.5 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 5.7 6.1 5.9 Florida 10.1 10.6 11.6 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 10.7 11.3 12.9 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach 7 7.3 8 Deltona-Daytona Beach 10.3 10.8 12 Gainesville 7.5 8.1 8 Jacksonville 9.6 10 11 Lakeland-Winter Haven 11.3 12 12.7 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano 10 10.7 11.8 Naples-Marco Island 10.7 11.4 12.3 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 10.3 11 12.2 Ocala 11.8 12.4 13.7 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford 9.8 10.2 11.3 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 11.2 11.6 11.9 Palm Coast 14 14.7 15.5 Panama City-Lynn Haven- 9.5 9.7 10.6 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 9.5 10 10.2 Port St Lucie 12 12.7 13.6 Punta Gorda 10.6 11.2 12.5 Sebastian-Vero Beach 12.7 13.6 14.4 Tallahassee 7.9 8.6 8.3 Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater 10.3 10.8 12 Georgia 10 10.2 10.1 Albany 10.4 10.8 10.8 Athens-Clarke County 7.5 8 7.6 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta 9.9 10.2 10.2 Augusta-Richmond County 9.3 9.6 8.9 Brunswick 10.2 10.5 9.9 Columbus 9.5 9.8 9.2 Dalton 12.7 12.5 11.9 Gainesville 8.4 8.6 9.1 Hinesville-Fort Stewart 9.5 9.8 8.9 Macon 10.1 10.3 10.2 Rome 11.1 11.2 10.5 Savannah 9 9.3 8.9 Valdosta 9 9.3 8.6 Warner Robins 7.7 7.9 7.7 Kentucky 9 9.7 9.6 Bowling Green 8.2 8.1 9.1 Elizabethtown 9.4 9.4 8.5 Lexington-Fayette 7.3 8 7.9 Louisville-Jefferson County 9 9.6 9.6 Owensboro 7.6 8.4 8.2 Louisiana 7.1 6.9 7.5 Alexandria 6.8 6.6 7.1 Baton Rouge 7.1 7 7.6 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 4.9 4.7 5.4 Lafayette 5.3 5.2 6.1 Lake Charles 6.4 6.1 7 Monroe 7.5 7.2 7.8 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 7.1 6.9 7.6 Shreveport-Bossier City 6.7 6.3 7.1 Maryland 6.8 7.1 7.1 Baltimore-Towson 7.2 7.6 7.6 Cumberland 7.6 8.1 8.2 Hagerstown-Martinsburg 8.4 8.9 9.4 Salisbury 8.3 8.5 8.3 Mississippi 10.2 10.6 9.8 Gulfport-Biloxi 9.4 9.7 8.9 Hattiesburg 9 9.4 8.5 Jackson 8.3 8.6 8.1 Pascagoula 10.5 11 9.2 North Carolina 9.7 10 9.4 Asheville 7.7 8 7.5 Burlington 10 10.7 9.9 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 10.2 10.7 10.5 Durham-Chapel Hill 7.5 7.8 6.9 Fayetteville 9.7 10 8.8 Goldsboro 8.6 9.1 8.1 Greensboro-High Point 10.1 10.5 9.9 Greenville 9.6 10.3 9.1 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 11.7 12 11.7 Jacksonville 9 9.5 7.8 Raleigh-Cary 8 8.4 7.7 Rocky Mount 13 13.4 12.1 Wilmington 10 10.2 9.1 Winston-Salem 9.2 9.5 9 Oklahoma 6 5.8 6.7 Lawton 6.8 6.3 6.6 Oklahoma City 5.8 5.5 6.3 Tulsa 6.6 6.4 7.5 South Carolina 9.9 10.6 10.6 Anderson 9.3 9.9 10.7 Charleston-N. Charleston 8.5 9 9.1 Columbia 8.5 9.1 9.1 Florence 10.8 11.4 11.3 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley 8.4 8.8 9.3 Myrtle Beach-N. Myrtle Beach-Conway 10.4 10.5 11.1 Spartanburg 9.9 10.5 10.7 Sumter 10.9 11.5 11.6 Tennessee 8.9 9.7 9 Chattanooga 7.9 8.7 8.2 Clarksville 9.4 10.2 9.2 Cleveland 8.8 9.8 8.8 Jackson 9.3 10.1 9.2 Johnson City 7.8 8.7 8.2 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol 7.6 8.4 8 Knoxville 7 7.9 7.2 Memphis 10 10.4 9.6 Morristown 10.3 11.3 10.4 Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro 7.7 8.5 8 Texas 8 8.4 7.9 Abilene 6.8 7.1 6.4 Amarillo 5.6 6 5.5 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 7.1 7.5 6.9 Beaumont-Port Arthur 10.8 11.4 10.3 Brownsville-Harlingen 11.9 12.4 11 College Station-Bryan 6.2 6.6 6.1 Corpus Christi 7.6 8 7.9 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 8 8.3 8 El Paso 10.2 10.5 9.5 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 8.1 8.6 8.2 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 8.4 8.8 7.6 Laredo 7.7 8.2 8.1 Longview 6.8 7.3 7 Lubbock 6.1 6.5 6 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 11.6 12.2 11.4 Midland 4.5 4.9 4.9 Odessa 5.7 6.2 7.1 San Angelo 6.3 6.8 6.2 San Antonio-New Braunfels 7.5 8 7.3 Sherman-Denison 8.5 8.8 8.2 Texarkana 7.4 7.8 7.1 Tyler 8.5 8.3 7.6 Victoria 6.8 7.1 7.3 Waco 7.6 8 7.2 Wichita Falls 7.2 7.6 7.3 Virginia 6 6.4 6.4 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 6.5 6.9 7.3 Charlottesville 5 5.4 5.3 Danville 8.9 9.5 10.2 Harrisonburg 5.6 6.1 6.1 Lynchburg 6.5 6.9 7.2 Richmond 6.9 7.3 7.3 Roanoke 6.2 6.7 6.8 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News 7 7.3 7 Winchester 6.2 6.5 6.8 West Virginia 7.4 7.8 8.5 Charleston 6.8 7.4 8 Huntington-Ashland 7.9 8.5 8.5 Morgantown 5.2 5.9 6 Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna 7.6 8.1 8.6 Wheeling 7.7 7.9 9.1

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111206/ap_on_bi_ge/us_metro_unemployment_south_glance

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