Submitted by Fox First at Ten on January 8th
By The Associated Press
Unemployment rates fell below 7 percent in a majority of U.S. cities in November, evidence that steady job gains are benefiting most parts of the country.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that rates fell in November from October in 215 of the 372 largest metro areas. Rates were unchanged in 33 and rose in 124.
Rates dropped below 7 percent in 192 cities. That's the first time since the recession ended that more than half of large cities had rates below that threshold.
Here are unemployment rates in November for states and cities in the West:
Metro Unemployment, West Unemployment rates by state and city Figures in percentages Nov. 2012 Oct. 2012 Nov. 2011 Alaska 6.6 5.9 7.2 Anchorage 5.5 5 6.1 Fairbanks 5.7 4.9 6.4 Arizona 7.5 8.1 8.7 Flagstaff 7.6 7.6 8.7 Lake Havasu City-Kingman 8.8 9.4 10.1 Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale 6.5 6.9 7.7 Prescott 7.9 8.5 9 Tucson 6.6 7.1 7.6 Yuma 27.5 29.8 26.3 California 9.6 9.8 10.9 Bakersfield-Delano 12.4 12.2 13.3 Chico 11.1 11 12.2 El Centro 26.6 29.4 28.9 Fresno 14.4 13.8 15.8 Hanford-Corcoran 13.9 13.7 14.8 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana 9.1 9.5 10.8 Madera-Chowchilla 13.6 12.5 14.7 Merced 15.7 14.6 16.4 Modesto 14.5 13.9 15.6 Napa 7.5 6.9 8.5 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura 8.6 8.7 9.6 Redding 11.7 11.6 13.3 Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario 11.3 11.7 12.4 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade 9.8 9.8 11 Salinas 9.8 8.8 10.7 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos 8.3 8.6 9.4 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 7.5 7.7 8.7 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 7.8 7.9 9.1 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 7.3 7.3 8.6 Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta 7.3 7.3 8.2 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 9.5 8.7 10.9 Santa Rosa-Petaluma 7.7 7.6 9.1 Stockton 14.1 13.6 15.8 Vallejo-Fairfield 9.3 9.3 10.5 Visalia-Porterville 14.5 14.4 15.4 Yuba City 15.8 15.2 16.6 Colorado 7.5 7.5 7.7 Boulder 5.7 5.8 5.7 Colorado Springs 8.8 8.8 8.6 Denver-Aurora-Broomfield 7.4 7.4 7.7 Fort Collins-Loveland 6 5.9 6.1 Grand Junction 8.4 8.3 8.4 Greeley 8.2 8.1 8.5 Pueblo 10.1 10.3 9.6 Hawaii 5.3 5.4 6.7 Honolulu 4.8 5 5.8 Idaho 6.6 6.4 8.1 Boise City-Nampa 6.4 6.5 8.3 Coeur d'Alene 7.7 7.6 9.5 Idaho Falls 5.5 5.4 6.8 Lewiston 5.7 5.9 7.2 Pocatello 6.3 6.2 7.6 Montana 5.7 5.4 6.4 Billings 4 4 4.6 Great Falls 4.9 4.9 5.5 Missoula 5.4 5.2 6.2 Nevada 10.2 10.9 12.7 Carson City 10.3 10.7 12.4 Las Vegas-Paradise 10.4 11.1 13 Reno-Sparks 9.9 10.6 12.1 New Mexico 6 6 6.6 Albuquerque 6.3 6.4 7.1 Farmington 6 6 6.6 Las Cruces 6.1 6.2 6.6 Santa Fe 4.7 4.8 5.2 Oregon 8.1 8 8.6 Bend 10.4 10.1 11.6 Corvallis 5.7 5.8 5.8 Eugene-Springfield 7.9 8 8.6 Medford 9.4 9.6 10.1 Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro 7.4 7.6 8.3 Salem 8.6 8.5 9.1 Utah 4.9 5.1 5.5 Logan 3.7 3.8 3.8 Ogden-Clearfield 5.1 5.3 5.7 Provo-Orem 4.6 4.8 5.1 St George 6.2 6.3 7.1 Salt Lake City 4.8 5 5.4 Washington 7.3 7.3 8.4 Bellingham 6.5 6.3 7.4 Bremerton-Silverdale 6.5 6.4 7.2 Kennewick-Pasco-Richland 8.6 7.5 8.3 Longview 9.9 9.9 11 Mount Vernon-Anacortes 8.4 7.9 9.4 Olympia 6.9 6.7 7.5 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 6.8 6.9 8 Spokane 7.7 7.4 8.3 Wenatchee-East Wenatchee 7.3 5.8 7.9 Yakima 9.1 7.4 9.4 Wyoming 5.1 4.4 5.5 Casper 4.5 4.1 5.2 Cheyenne 5.5 5.1 6.1
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