Metro Atlanta not only saw unemployment skyrocket in June, but it had one of the highest jobless rates among the nation's major cities.
Rising to 10.5 percent unemployment in June, up from a revised 9.7 percent in May, metro Atlanta's rate was better than only a handful of major metros, according to recently released Bureau of Labor statistics.
Those areas include metro Las Vegas, with 13.8 percent unemployment, Detroit (12.5 percent), Miami (11.8 percent), Los Angeles (11.6 percent) and Charlotte (11.2).
Metro areas of 1 million with lower unemployment in June included Oklahoma City (5.7 percent), Washington, D.C. (6.2 percent), Minneapolis (6.9 percent) and Boston (7.1 percent).
Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo, said Atlanta is a victim of its own success. Post-graduate students continue to flock to the city, adding to the masses who can't find work.
He said he expects employment to pick up the second half of the year, though it won't be enough to put the area on solid footing.
"We might break even," he said.
Atlanta's challenges come as the nation added 117,000 non-farm payroll jobs in July and the national unemployment rate ticked down from 9.2 percent to 9.1 percent.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said 224 of the nation's 372 metropolitan areas had lower unemployment rates in June than they had the same time the year before. A total 127 areas, including Atlanta, saw higher numbers this past June than they did in June 2010. Metro Atlanta's unemployment rate was 10.3 percent in June 2010.
The rate was unchanged in 21 metro cities.
Metro Atlanta also had one of the largest year-over-year non-farm job losses in the nation, shedding 24,300 jobs, the bureau said. That compared to Dallas-Fort Worth, which added 62,800 jobs year over year in June, and Boston, which added 54,900.
Other job losers include Philadelphia, down 13,300 jobs; San Bernadino, Calif., minus 11,400; and Los Angeles, down 11,300.
June unemployment in select metropolitan cities nationwide
Las Vegas -- 13.8 percent
Detroit -- 12.5 percent
Miami-Fort Lauderdale -- 11.8 percent
Los Angeles -- 11.6 percent
Charlotte -- 11.2 percent
Atlanta -- 10.5 percent
Chicago -- 10.2 percent
San Francisco -- 10 percent
Seattle -- 9.3 percent
Nashville -- 9 percent
Houston -- 9 percent
St. Louis -- 9 percent
Philadelphia -- 8.9 percent
New York -- 8.8 percent
Dallas -- 8.7 percent
Denver -- 8.7 percent
Cleveland -- 8.3 percent
New Orleans -- 8 percent
Baltimore -- 7.9 percent
Pittsburgh -- 7.4 percent
Boston -- 7.1 percent
Minneapolis -- 6.9 percent
Washington, D.C. -- 6.2 percent
Oklahoma City -- 5.7 percent
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