Unemployment rates up in 90 percent of US cities
The General Motors world headquarters as seen Feb. 24, 2013, in Detroit. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has declared a financial emergency there, which could result in the governor appointing an emergency financial manager to oversee Detroit’s municipal government.
Unemployment rates rose in 90 percent of American cities in June as college students and new graduates entered the job market looking for work.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday released the June figures, which put the nation's unemployment at 7.6 percent, down from 8.2 percent a year ago after the economy added 195,000 jobs.
Bismarck, North Dakota, had the lowest jobless rate at 2.8 percent, while Yuma, Arizona, reported the highest at 31.8 percent — over three times the national average. El Centro, California, had the second-highest unemployment rate in the country, 23.6 percent.
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Yuma, located near the Mexican border, has large population of seasonal migrant farm workers.
Among the 49 cities with more than 1 million people, Detroit, Michigan, which recently declared bankruptcy, had the highest unemployment rate — 10.3 percent. The city has seen a 9 percent rise in unemployment since May.
The figures came out the same day South Africa announced that its national unemployment rate hit 25.6 percent in the second quarter.
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