While overall unemployment in the U.S. is still a relatively low 3.8%, as of August, it did rise from 3.5% in July. Higher interest rates and the burdens of inflation are having an impact, albeit small, on some parts of the country, driving up the costs of housing and pushing unemployment numbers up. In order to identify cities in the U.S. that are running out of jobs and cheap housing, GOBankingRates gathered information on the top 200 biggest housing markets in the U.S., according to Zillow.
GOBankingRates gathered data on July typical home value, July 2023 typical monthly rent, metro statistical area unemployment rate, as well as labor force participation rate and median household income. The labor force participation rate refers to the rate of the working-age population (over age 16) that is either working or actively looking for work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This measure gives a good representation of the labor resources available for producing goods and services.
The study found that nine of the top 10 cities starting to feel the pinch are in the usually thriving state of California, and only one in the state of New York.
