Unemployment Rises In 99.7 Percent Of Metro Areas

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Unemployment rose in all but one of the 372 metropolitan areas tracked by the Labor Department at the start of 2009 and areas of California were among the hardest hit, according to government data released Thursday.

That means jobless rates rose in January in 99.7 percent of the cities compared with a year ago. By comparison, in January 2008, one month into the current recession, unemployment increased in only 234 metro areas, or 63 percent.

Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4 percent, was the only metro area that didn't see an increase. All 49 metro areas with more than 1 million people saw their rates rise in the past year, the department said.

Most economists expect job losses to mount this year, even with the Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package and other government efforts. The nationwide unemployment rate, which stood at 8.1 percent in February, could reach 10 percent by the end of this year.

Initial jobless claims fell slightly last week to 646,000, the Labor Department said Thursday, but topped 600,000 for the seventh consecutive week. The number of people continuing to receive benefits reached a new record of 5.47 million people, nearly double the 2.85 million a year ago.