The Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington area in Minnesota and Wisconsin posted the lowest unemployment rate among all large, US metropolitan areas in October at 2.1%. The Cleveland-Elyria in Ohio posted the highest jobless rate among large metropolitan areas in October at 4.5%.

The lowest unemployment rate among metropolitan areas of all sizes was in Ames, Iowa, at 1.1%. El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz., had the highest unemployment rates at 19.2% and 17.7%, respectively.

Separately, the US Department of Labor reported the US four-week moving average of initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 223,250 last week, up 4,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average.

The four-week moving average smooths the volatility of the week-to-week numbers. Total initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended Nov. 24 rose to 234,000, up 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level. MarketWatch reported claims increased for the third consecutive week and hit a six-month high, easily topping the 220,000 forecast in its poll of economists.