The Oklahoma City and Washington DC metropolitan areas posted the lowest jobless rates, 5.9% each, among U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The New Orleans metropolitan area registered the next-lowest unemployment rate at 6.1%.

Detroit recorded the highest unemployment rate among large metropolitan areas at 14.8% in May, down from 15.5% in April. The Las Vegas area and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area in Southern California each posted the second-highest jobless rate at 14.2% in May.

Among metropolitan areas of all sizes, the El Centro CA area recorded the highest unemployment rate at 27.9%. Among the 14 metropolitan areas with jobless rates of 15.0% or more in May, 11 were in California.

Bismarck ND posted the lowest unemployment rate among metros of all sizes in May at 3.6%.