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Urban Areas Payroll Decline Flashes Red for US Economy
By Prathapan Bhaskaran - Apr 10, 2025, 09:50 AM ET
Metropolitan area employment dropped in two-thirds of states amid Trump tariff fallout fears
U.S. urban unemployment increased in two-thirds of the nation’s metropolitan areas in February 2025, a key report said. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report that jobless rates increased from a year ago in 255 of the 387 metro areas. Of them, 12 areas had unemployment rates of more than 8% while 15 areas had less than 3%.
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The increase in urban unemployment could be worrisome as the nation is bracing for the impact of the raging tariff wars. Many companies facing supply chain disruption because of the punitive tariffs on imports may have to lay off employees even as Elon Musk-led DOGE has resorted to mass layoffs of federal employees.
Natioinal unemployment rate
Metropolitan areas are home to a good percentage of federal employees and unemployment in these areas could worsen further as employees hit by the layoffs begin looking for new jobs. The national unemployment rate is hovering over 4.3%, up from 4.2% a year ago.
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El Centro, California, witnessed the highest rate of 17.2% jobless rate in February. A total of 235 areas had February jobless rates below the U.S. rate of 4.5 percent, 142 areas had rates above it, and 10 areas had the same rate as of the nation.
Related News: CPI Declines 0.1% in March as Inflation Dynamics Shift
About 279,445 federal staff and those on federal funding rolls have been given pink slips since President Donald Trump unleashed Tesla billionaire Musk-led DOGE on Federal departments. USAID and the Department of Education were the worst hit by the cutbacks while the entire staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were sent away.
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