Among all US metropolitan areas with populations of more than one million, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach area in Florida had the lowest jobless rate in January at 2.3%, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

On the other hand, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise area in Nevada had the highest rate at 5.9%.

Rapid City and Sioux Falls in South Dakota posted the lowest unemployment rates among metropolitan areas of all sizes at 1.9% each in January. Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Madison, Wisconsin, had the next-lowest rates at 2.0% each.

El Centro, California, had the highest jobless rate among metropolitan areas of all sizes at 16.2%.

Unemployment rates were lower in January than a year earlier in 297 of the 389 metropolitan areas, higher in 73 areas and unchanged in 19 areas. A total of 87 areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0%, and 10 areas had rates of at least 8.0%.

The national unemployment rate in January was 3.9%, not seasonally adjusted, down from 4.4% a year earlier.