Unemployment rates for cities in the West (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 West: Metro Unemployment Rates, West Unemployment rates by state and city Figures in percentages Oct. 2011 Sept. 2011 Oct. 2010 Alaska 6.9 6.7 7.3 Anchorage 6.1 6.2 6.6 Fairbanks 6 5.8 6.3 Arizona 8.9 8.9 9.7 Flagstaff 7.3 7.3 7.8 Lake Havasu City-Kingman 10.1 9.8 11.2 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale 8.1 8 8.9 Prescott 9.5 9.5 9.9 Tucson 7.9 8 8.7 Yuma 26.3 27 26.9 California 11.2 11.4 12.1 Bakersfield-Delano 13.5 13.6 14.4 Chico 12.2 12.6 13.1 El Centro 28.9 31.1 31.4 Fresno 15.7 14.9 16 Hanford-Corcoran 14.6 14 15.7 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana 11.1 11.3 11.8 Madera-Chowchilla 14 13.1 14.7 Merced 15.8 15.8 16.3 Modesto 15.2 15 16.1 Napa 8.3 8.5 9 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 9.8 10.1 10.6 Redding 13.2 13.3 14.8 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 13.3 13.5 14.4 Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville 11.4 11.4 12.2 Salinas 10.3 10.1 10.3 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos 9.7 9.8 10.4 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 9.1 9.2 10.1 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 9.5 9.6 10.8 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 9.2 9.4 9.8 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta 8.6 8.5 9.1 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 10.1 10 10.8 Santa Rosa-Petaluma 9.3 9.4 9.8 Stockton 15.7 15.3 16.6 Vallejo-Fairfield 10.9 11 11.6 Visalia-Porterville 15.3 14.9 15.9 Yuba City 16.7 16.4 17.9 Colorado 7.7 7.7 8.4 Boulder 5.9 5.9 6.7 Colorado Springs 8.6 8.6 9.2 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield 7.8 7.9 8.6 Fort Collins-Loveland 6.1 6 6.8 Grand Junction 8.5 8.5 9.5 Greeley 8.7 8.7 9.5 Pueblo 9.4 9.4 10 Hawaii 6.5 6.6 6.4 Honolulu 5.6 5.7 5.5 Idaho 8 8.1 8.9 Boise City-Nampa 8.4 8.5 9.5 Coeur d'Alene 9.3 9.3 10.4 Idaho Falls 6.6 6.7 6.8 Lewiston 6.8 7.1 7.5 Pocatello 7.7 7.7 8.1 Montana 6.9 6.8 6.7 Billings 5.2 5.4 5.2 Great Falls 6.2 6.3 5.7 Missoula 7.2 7 6.8 Nevada 12.7 13.2 14.3 Carson City 12 12.4 13.1 Las Vegas-Paradise 13.1 13.6 14.8 Reno-Sparks 12.1 12.6 13.3 New Mexico 6.4 6.4 8.2 Albuquerque 7 6.9 8.8 Farmington 6.4 6.5 8.9 Las Cruces 6.3 6.2 7.8 Santa Fe 5.4 5.4 6.9 Oregon 8.9 8.8 10 Bend 11.4 11.3 13.4 Corvallis 5.9 6.2 6.6 Eugene-Springfield 8.8 9.1 10.4 Medford 9.9 10.3 11.4 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 8.4 8.7 9.8 Salem 9.1 9.1 9.9 Utah 6.3 6.8 7.3 Logan 4.5 4.9 5.4 Ogden-Clearfield 6.5 6.9 7.3 Provo-Orem 6.3 6.8 7.3 St George 7.8 8.6 9.3 Salt Lake City 6.2 6.7 7.1 Washington 8.3 8.5 8.8 Bellingham 7.6 7.9 7.6 Bremerton-Silverdale 7.4 7.3 7.1 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland 7.8 6.7 6.1 Longview 10.8 11.2 11.2 Mount Vernon-Anacortes 8.9 8.9 9.1 Olympia 7.8 7.7 7.4 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 8.3 8.5 9.1 Spokane 8.3 8.4 8.1 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 6.4 6.4 6.5 Yakima 8.4 8.2 7.1 Wyoming 5.3 5.1 6 Casper 5.3 5.3 6.5 Cheyenne 6.1 6 6.6

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

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