The unemployment rate for the D.C. metropolitan region fell to a new pandemic-era low in December, at 3.3%, down from 3.7% in November and down from 6.5% a year earlier.
Baltimore’s unemployment rate in December was 3.8%, down from 4.3% the previous month.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly metropolitan unemployment rates are reported on a non seasonally-adjusted basis.
In December, a total of 141 metro areas had a jobless rate of less than 3.0%. Among all metros, Elkhart, Indiana, had the lowest unemployment rate of just 0.9%. El Centro, California, had the highest, at 14.7%.
Among metro areas with a population of 1 million or more, Indianapolis had the lowest unemployment rate in December, at 1.2%, followed by Salt Lake City at 1.3%. Las Vegas had the highest big city unemployment rate, at 6.0%.
A total of 245 metro areas had December unemployment rates that were lower than the national average of 3.7%.
As of December, there were 111,524 adults in the D.C. region receiving unemployment benefits, 11,754 fewer than in November, and almost half as many as in Dec. 2020.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics posts metropolitan unemployment rates by month online.
