El Centro Has Nation's Highest Jobless Rate

The Labor Department reports unemployment rose earlier this year in all but one of the 372 metropolitan areas it tracks.

That means jobless rates rose in January in 99.7 percent of the cities compared with a year ago and areas of California were among the hardest hit.

Fourteen areas had unemployment rates above 15 percent in January. Ten of those areas are located in California, including El Centro, which has the nation's highest jobless rate of 24.2 percent.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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