Where unemployment is only 3%

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics just released it's September unemployment figures, and while the overall rate dropped from 8.3% to 8.1%, it's nothing to crow about. The rate went down simply because the number of workforce participants -- which includes those unemployed actively looking for work -- also went down (from 155 million in July to 154.6 million in August).

However, the pain isn't being felt everywhere. In fact, in one state -- North Dakota -- the rate has been hovering around a full-employment level of 3%.  That's because North Dakota is in the midst of an oil boom of historic proportions. "Business owners everywhere are desperately searching for workers of all skill levels, and even an unskilled restaurant server can make upwards of $25 an hour working full-time and even overtime," states a recent press release issued by an industry-sponsored website. More than a half a million barrels of oil a day are being pulled from the Bakken formation, a geologic rock formation that runs through the state.

North Dakota cities rank on top of the BLS' latest cities list in terms of full employment, but are joined by other Midwest and prairie-state cities as well. Many of these areas avoided the frenzied overbuilding of the real-estate bubble, and have been carefully and steadily moving from a dependence on agriculture and heavy industry to information, service and health-care-based economies.

Below are the top 10 cities for employment in the US.  What really gets interesting is when you look at the bottom 10 -- the cities with the highest unemployment. Most of these are cities in California -- casualties of the overbuilt real-estate bust. A city in New Jersey also makes the list.

For decades, the US was a "bi-coastal economy" -- opportunities and growth were seen as happening on the East and West coasts, while the plains and Midwestern states in between were being left in the dust, with drying up rural economies and rustbelt industries. There was a tremendous talent and brain drain in recent decades -- young people couldn't get away from places such as North Dakota fast enough. It seems that times have changed for many regions.

The entire list of 372 metro areas is available from the BLS. Here are the top 10 and 10 worse off:

Top 10 Metro Areas with Lowest Unemployment                Unemployment rate

1. Bismarck, ND Metropolitan Statistical Area                               2.5%
2. Fargo, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area                             3.3%
3. Lincoln, NE Metropolitan Statistical Area                                  3.8%
4. Sioux Falls, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area                            4.0%
5. Iowa City, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area                                 4.2%
6. Midland, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area                                  4.2%
7. Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area                   4.3%
8. Rapid City, SD Metropolitan Statistical Area                              4.3%
9. Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area                                       4.5%
10. Billings, MT Metropolitan Statistical Area                                   4.6%

Top 10 Metro Areas with Highest Unemployment               Unemployment rate

1. Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area                                     31.2%
2. El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                               29.9%
3. Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                                  17.5%
4. Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                               17.3%
5. Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                   15.8%
6. Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                                 15.7%
7. Stockton, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                                 15.1%
8. Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                                    14.7%
9. Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area                   14.5%
10. Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area      14.3%

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com