The outlook for state and local government employment appears to be a bit brighter than in recent years, according to a recently released survey by the Center for State and Local Government Excellence and the International Public Management Association for Human...
Job Market
Despite Notable Improvement, California Metro Areas Still Face Unemployment Challenges
The Golden State is home to the two metro areas posting the greatest decline in unemployment rates among large metro areas in April 2013, compared to a year earlier. The unemployment rate fell by an even two percentage points in both the Riverside-San...
November Employment Update: Is Las Vegas Making a Comeback?
In November 2012, the national unemployment rate was 7.4 percent, down from 8.2 percent a year earlier, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor of Statistics. By comparison, 217 of the nation’s 372 metro areas posted unemployment rates below the national...
October Employment Update: The Stand-Outs… and All the Rest
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its Metro Area Employment and Unemployment data for October 2012. The national unemployment rate for October was 7.5% (not seasonally adjusted). Unemployment rates in October were lower in 329 of the nation’s 372...
September Employment Update: Sustained Trends Over Time Paint the Most Accurate Picture
What do Elkhart, Indiana and El Centro, California have in common? Admittedly, not much. Yet these two metro areas posted the largest year-over-year decreases in unemployment rate, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Metro Area Employment and...
Interest in Public Sector Employment Prevails in Spite of Challenges
State and local governments are struggling with budget gaps. Stimulus funds are drying up. Public pension shortfalls are making mainstream media headlines. To the casual observer, it would seem that qualified job candidates would be heading for the hills - or, in this...
June Metro Area Employment Update – Lafayette, LA Leads in Employment Growth Rate
Looking for good news in employment trends? June data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) points to annual nonfarm payroll employment growth in 268 of 372 U.S. metro areas - which translates to a positive trend in around 72 percent of the nation’s...
May Employment Data – Which Metro Areas Fared Best? Worst?
Lafayette, Louisiana led the nation in annual percentage gains in employment in May 2012, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier, according to recently released Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Columbus,...
Unemployment Trends Looking Brighter – for Most Metro Areas
Compared to a year earlier, unemployment rates were down in 342 of the 372 metropolitan areas in April 2012, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) press release. Other highlights of the latest BLS release: El Centro, California and Yuma, Arizona...
Unemployment Rates Drop in Majority of Metro Areas
Unemployment rates were lower in 351 of the 372 metropolitan areas in November 2011 compared to a year earlier, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. Unemployment rates were higher in 16 metro areas, and unchanged in five. The...