The Minneapolis and Washington D.C. areas recorded the lowest jobless rates in December among all large metropolitan areas with populations of 1 million or more, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The jobless rates in the Minneapolis and Washington D.C. metropolitan area were 5.5 percent each.

Las Vegas and the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area in Southern California recorded the highest unemployment rates in December among large metropolitan areas at 12.7 percent and 12.2 percent, respectively.

In all, seven large metropolitan areas posted unemployment rates of 10.0 percent or more in December.

Among U.S. metropolitan areas of all sizes, El Centro, Calif., posted the highest unemployment rate at 26.8 percent in December. Yuma, Ariz., posted the second-highest at 23.1 percent. Seven of the other eight areas with jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent in December were located in California.

Bismarck, N.D., recorded the lowest unemployment rate among metropolitan areas of all sizes at 3.2 percent.