Unemployment rates in cities in the South (AP)

Unemployment rates fell in three-quarters of large U.S. cities in November. The second straight month of declines for most major markets suggests the modest improvement in the job market is widespread. The Labor Department said Wednesday that unemployment rates fell in 277 metro areas. They rose in 71 and were unchanged in 29. In October, 281 cities reported having lower unemployment rates, the most in seven months. The metro area unemployment data can be volatile because they aren't adjusted for seasonal variations, such as hiring for the winter holiday. Nationwide, the unemployment 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 November, for states and cities in the South: November 2011 October 2011 November 2010 Alabama 8 8.7 9 Anniston-Oxford 8 8.7 8.9 Auburn-Opelika 6.8 7.1 7.6 Birmingham-Hoover 7.3 8 8.5 Decatur 7.9 8.6 9.1 Dothan 7.4 8.1 8.3 Florence-Muscle Shoals 7.4 8 8.2 Gadsden 8.1 8.9 8.7 Huntsville 6.8 7.4 7.2 Mobile 9.1 9.9 9.9 Montgomery 8.2 8.9 8.9 Tuscaloosa 7.5 8 8.2 Arkansas 7.2 7.4 7.4 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers 5.5 5.9 5.9 Fort Smith 7.8 7.9 7.8 Hot Springs 7 7.2 7.7 Jonesboro 6.4 6.8 7 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway 6.3 6.7 6.5 Pine Bluff 9.3 9.4 9.3 Delaware 6.9 7.5 8.1 Dover 6.8 7.4 7.9 Washington, D.C. 10.2 10.3 10 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria-Md. 5.4 5.7 6 Florida 9.8 10.1 12.1 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 10.5 10.7 13.2 Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin 7.2 7 8.8 Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach 10.3 10.3 12.7 Gainesville 8 7.5 8.8 Jacksonville 9.5 9.6 11.5 Lakeland-Winter Haven 11 11.3 13.2 Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach 9.4 10 11.9 Naples-Marco Island 10 10.7 12.3 North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota 10.1 10.3 12.6 Ocala 11.8 11.8 14.4 Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford 9.7 9.8 11.9 Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville 11.1 11.2 12.5 Palm Coast 14 14 16.3 Panama City-Lynn Haven 9.9 9.5 11.7 Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent 9.8 9.5 11.1 Port St Lucie 11.6 12 14 Punta Gorda 10.3 10.6 12.8 Sebastian-Vero Beach 11.9 12.6 14.5 Tallahassee 8.2 7.9 9.1 Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater 10.3 10.4 12.6 Georgia 9.3 9.9 10.3 Albany 9.7 10.4 10.9 Athens-Clarke County 6.9 7.5 7.6 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta 9.2 9.9 10.3 Augusta-Richmond County 8.7 9.3 9.1 Brunswick 9.7 10.2 10.2 Columbus 8.6 9.4 9.5 Dalton 11.8 12.6 13 Gainesville 7.7 8.3 9.2 Hinesville-Fort Stewart 8.9 9.4 8.9 Macon 9.4 10 10.3 Rome 10.4 11.1 10.7 Savannah 8.4 9 9 Valdosta 8.6 9 8.9 Warner Robins 7.2 7.7 7.8 Kentucky 8.6 9 10 Bowling Green 7.4 8.1 8.6 Elizabethtown 8.7 9.2 8.9 Lexington-Fayette 7 7.4 8.3 Louisville-Jefferson County 8.8 9 9.8 Owensboro 7.1 7.6 8.8 Louisiana 6.5 7.1 7.3 Alexandria 6.2 6.8 6.9 Baton Rouge 6.6 7.1 7.4 Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux 4.5 4.9 5.3 Lafayette 4.9 5.3 5.9 Lake Charles 5.9 6.4 6.9 Monroe 6.9 7.5 7.7 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner 6.5 7.1 7.3 Shreveport-Bossier City 6 6.6 6.8 Maryland 6.4 6.8 7.3 Baltimore-Towson 6.7 7.1 7.8 Cumberland 7.3 7.7 8.5 Hagerstown-Martinsburg 8 8.4 10 Salisbury 8.2 8.3 9.2 Mississippi 9.7 10.4 9.8 Gulfport-Biloxi 8.9 9.6 8.7 Hattiesburg 8.5 9.2 8.3 Jackson 7.7 8.4 7.9 Pascagoula 10.2 10.7 9.3 North Carolina 9.5 9.7 9.9 Asheville 7.5 7.7 7.9 Burlington 9.6 10.7 10.4 Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill 10 10.3 11 Durham-Chapel Hill 7.3 7.6 7.2 Fayetteville 9.4 9.7 9.3 Goldsboro 8.4 8.6 8.5 Greensboro-High Point 9.9 10.2 10.4 Greenville 9.3 9.7 9.5 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton 11.7 11.8 12.4 Jacksonville 8.5 9 8.2 Raleigh-Cary 7.8 8.1 8.1 Rocky Mount 12.7 13 12.6 Wilmington 9.9 10.1 9.9 Winston-Salem 8.9 9.2 9.5 Oklahoma 5.8 6.1 6.7 Lawton 6.6 6.8 6.7 Oklahoma City 5.5 5.8 6.3 Tulsa 6.4 6.7 7.5 South Carolina 9.2 9.9 11 Anderson 9.1 9.3 11 Charleston-Summerville 7.8 8.5 9.3 Columbia 7.9 8.5 9.3 Florence 9.9 10.7 11.6 Greenville-Mauldin-Easley 7.7 8.3 9.4 Myrtle Beach-Conway 10.3 10.4 12.2 Spartanburg 9.2 9.9 10.9 Sumter 10.3 11 11.7 Tennessee 8.4 8.9 9.3 Chattanooga 7.5 7.9 8.4 Clarksville 9 9.4 9.9 Cleveland 8.4 8.8 9.2 Jackson 8.9 9.3 9.5 Johnson City 7.4 7.8 8.5 Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol 7.2 7.6 8.2 Knoxville 6.6 7 7.4 Memphis 9.2 10 9.7 Morristown 10.1 10.3 10.8 Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro 7.2 7.6 8.2 Texas 7.5 8 8.2 Abilene 6.2 6.8 6.5 Amarillo 5.1 5.6 5.7 Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos 6.6 7.1 7.1 Beaumont-Port Arthur 10.3 10.8 10.9 Brownsville-Harlingen 11.2 11.9 11.7 College Station-Bryan 5.8 6.2 6.3 Corpus Christi 7.1 7.5 8.3 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 7.4 8 8.2 El Paso 9.6 10.2 9.9 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown 7.6 8.1 8.5 Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood 7.9 8.4 8 Laredo 7.2 7.7 8.4 Longview 6.4 6.8 7.2 Lubbock 5.5 6 6.2 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission 11 11.5 12.1 Midland 4.1 4.5 5 Odessa 5.3 5.7 7.1 San Angelo 5.7 6.3 6.4 San Antonio-New Braunfels 7 7.5 7.5 Sherman-Denison 8 8.5 8.5 Texarkana 6.9 7.4 7.1 Tyler 8.1 8.5 7.9 Victoria 6.4 6.8 7.4 Waco 7.1 7.6 7.6 Wichita Falls 6.7 7.2 7.6 Virginia 5.7 6 6.5 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 6 6.5 7.3 Charlottesville 4.6 5 5.3 Danville 8.5 8.9 10.5 Harrisonburg 5.3 5.6 6.1 Lynchburg 6.1 6.5 7.2 Richmond 6.6 6.8 7.5 Roanoke 6 6.2 7 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News 6.7 7 7.2 Winchester 6 6.2 7 West Virginia 7.1 7.3 9.1 Charleston 6.4 6.8 8.3 Huntington-Ashland 7.4 7.9 8.7 Morgantown 4.9 5.2 6 Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna 7.2 7.6 9 Wheeling 7.2 7.6 9.4

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120104/ap_on_bi_ge/us_metro_unemployment_south_glance

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