Now is the Time: Places Left Behind in the New Economy

now is the time: places left behind in the new economy

Table 8
Many Central Cities (and Most Are Small or Mid-Sized)
Show Unacceptably High Unemployment Rates
Relative to the Nation as a Whole

List of High Unemployment Central Cities, 1998

			Population	Average Unemployment Rate*
	City	State	1996	1992	1998
1	Anniston	AL	25,774	17.4%	8.7%
2	Florence	AL	38,999	9.7%	8.3%
3	Yuma	AZ	60,519	19.0%	18.8%
4	Pine Bluff	AR	54,165	12.8%	8.7%
5	Bakersfield	CA	205,508	11.6%	8.9%
6	Chico	CA	45,965	11.3%	8.0%
7	Fresno	CA	396,011	14.1%	12.5%
8	Hemet	CA	51,350	15.9%	9.3%
9	Lodi	CA	54,585	10.4%	7.8%
10	Los Angeles	CA	3,553,638	11.1%	7.3%
11	Madera	CA	35,648	23.6%	18.3%
12	Merced	CA	58,099	16.4%	15.2%
13	Modesto	CA	178,559	14.8%	10.8%
14	Porterville	CA	34,518	19.7%	18.5%
15	Redding	CA	76,616	13.1%	8.9%
16	Salinas	CA	111,757	16.0%	14.0%
17	San Bernardino	CA	183,474	13.4%	8.0%
18	Stockton	CA	232,660	16.3%	12.4%
19	Tulare	CA	39,927	14.3%	13.4%
20	Turlock	CA	48,994	14.6%	10.6%
21	Visalia	CA	87,787	10.9%	10.2%
22	Watsonville	CA	32,752	19.6%	14.6%
23	Yuba City	CA	32,433	21.7%	17.7%
24	Pueblo	CO	99,406	9.7%	6.8%
25	Hartford	CT	133,086	12.6%	7.5%
26	Washington	DC	543,213	8.6%	8.6%
27	Fort Pierce	FL	36,876	25.1%	17.6%
28	Miami	FL	365,127	15.0%	9.6%
29	Miami Beach	FL	94,540	12.2%	7.8%
30	Panama City	FL	35,986	10.9%	8.2%
31	Port St. Lucie	FL	75,532	12.5%	8.3%
32	West Palm Beach	FL	79,305	12.9%	7.4%
33	Albany	GA	78,591	11.2%	8.9%
34	Alton	IL	31,562	9.3%	7.0%
35	Belleville	IL	41,608	13.8%	8.5%
36	Decatur	IL	81,369	11.0%	6.8%
37	East St. Louis	IL	38,595	14.0%	9.6%
38	Granite City	IL	31,449	12.6%	6.8%
39	Joliet	IL	86,749	13.2%	7.4%
40	Kankakee	IL	27,217	13.1%	9.6%
41	North Chicago	IL	31,665	10.7%	10.3%
42	East Chicago	IN	31,761	14.5%	6.9%
43	Gary	IN	110,975	17.0%	8.2%
44	Kansas City	KS	142,654	8.5%	7.3%
45	Alexandria	LA	46,051	10.1%	6.9%
46	Monroe	LA	54,588	9.3%	7.3%
47	Baltimore	MD	675,401	11.0%	8.7%
48	Lawrence	MA	68,807	14.4%	8.5%
49	New Bedford	MA	96,903	14.8%	8.1%
50	Detroit	MI	1,000,272	17.0%	7.0%
51	Flint	MI	134,881	20.0%	9.8%
52	Pontiac	MI	70,471	19.0%	7.2%
53	Saginaw	MI	65,014	14.5%	7.9%
54	St. Louis	MO	351,565	8.3%	7.2%
55	Atlantic City	NJ	38,361	17.4%	13.7%
56	Camden	NJ	84,844	24.3%	13.5%
57	Jersey City	NJ	229,039	13.7%	9.3%
58	Millville	NJ	26,366	10.6%	8.0%
59	Newark	NJ	268,510	16.6%	9.9%
60	Trenton	NJ	85,437	13.7%	9.1%
61	Vineland	NJ	55,906	11.8%	8.9%
62	Las Cruces	NM	74,779	7.4%	8.4%
63	Buffalo	NY	310,548	12.2%	8.7%
64	Newburgh	NY	26,248	13.4%	7.5%
65	New York	NY	7,380,906	11.0%	8.0%
66	Niagara Falls	NY	58,357	13.0%	10.4%
67	Rocky Mount	NC	52,635	9.0%	7.7%
68	Cleveland	OH	498,246	13.7%	8.4%
69	Dayton	OH	172,947	10.9%	7.0%
70	Lima	OH	42,913	12.8%	7.7%
71	Lorain	OH	69,800	12.9%	7.4%
72	Mansfield	OH	50,906	11.4%	7.5%
73	Warren	OH	48,347	15.1%	8.9%
74	Youngstown	OH	87,405	16.1%	10.6%
75	Erie	PA	105,270	9.7%	7.0%
76	Johnstown	PA	26,149	12.5%	8.5%
77	Wilkes-Barre	PA	44,407	9.9%	6.9%
78	Williamsport	PA	30,537	9.3%	6.8%
79	Brownsville	TX	132,091	16.8%	14.4%
80	Edinburg	TX	37,742	20.1%	15.6%
81	El Paso	TX	599,865	11.2%	9.6%
82	Galveston	TX	60,048	11.5%	8.5%
83	Harlingen	TX	56,893	10.7%	9.1%
84	Killeen	TX	78,022	11.1%	6.9%
85	Laredo	TX	164,899	10.7%	9.2%
86	Longview	TX	74,572	10.5%	7.2%
87	McAllen	TX	103,352	16.5%	12.7%
88	Mission	TX	37,777	19.3%	15.0%
89	Port Arthur	TX	57,701	13.9%	10.8%
90	Texarkana	TX	32,462	11.1%	9.4%
91	Texas City	TX	42,368	10.4%	7.7%
92	Bremerton	WA	41,580	9.4%	7.9%
93	Kennewick	WA	51,184	8.5%	7.4%
94	Yakima	WA	65,110	13.7%	10.2%
95	Parkersburg	WV	32,766	11.7%	7.5%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics * NOTE: Unemployment Rate Data is not available for Central Cities of less than 25,000 population.