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For the seventh month in a row, Greater Cleveland lost more jobs than any large metro in the country. The Cleeland-Elyria-Metro area lost 8,100 jobs between November 2012 and November 2013.

(Damian Dovarganes, Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- First they hold their breath, then they cringe.

This is how the people who follow local jobless numbers have greeted the Labor Department's release of metro unemployment figures in recent months. They hold their breath hoping the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor metro area won't yet again lead the nation in job loss. Then they cringe when the find out the local metro area is still No. 1.

November's figures released Tuesday brought reason for much cringing. For the seventh straight month, the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor metro area lost more jobs than any big city metro area in the country, based on year over year comparisons. The local metro area had 8,100 fewer jobs, or a 0.8 percent dip in employment, in November 2013 vs. November 2012. And yet again, Greater Cleveland was the only one of 37 large metros - those with employment levels above 750,000 - to post a decrease in jobs. The report looked at 372 metro areas of varying sizes.

While Greater Cleveland lost the most jobs, it did not have the largest percentage decrease in employment. That went to Decatur, Ill., which lost 3 percent of its jobs.

The Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor metro has been on a losing streak since May. Some may count it as a six-month losing streak, since the Labor Department did not release an October report because of the government shut down. However, preliminary data suggest that Greater Cleveland would have continued to place near the top in job loss.

George Zeller of Cleveland, an economic research analyst, was among the local experts cringing Tuesday morning.

"That's terrible news once again, but it should not be a surprise to us," he said.

Although the metro area unemployment figure is limited to Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Medina and Lorain counties, Zeller said it points to how Ohio's labor market is struggling. For example, in November, Ohio lost 12,000 jobs, leading the nation in job loss, according to Labor Department figures. The 0.2 percent decrease meant Ohio led the nation in number and percentage of jobs lost. Ohio's November jobless figure, at 7.4 percent, was higher than the U.S. unemployment rate that was 7.0 percent.

Zeller said consistent losses in the government sector -- local, state and federal -- have been "the largest single factor" slowing down Ohio's recovery. Greater Cleveland lost 1,100 government jobs between November 2012 and November 2013, but it was not the biggest sector decline, he said. The leisure and hospitality industry grouping, lost 5,300 jobs, more than any sector in the Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor metro, Zeller said.

All other metro areas in Ohio fared better than Greater Cleveland in terms of percentage of jobs lost. Greater Lima, with a 0.6 percent decrease in employment, followed by Greater Dayton, which lost 0.4 of its employment and the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman metro, which lost 0.1 percent of its jobs, where the only other Ohio metros to post employment declines. Sandusky, with a 1.4 increase in jobs, led the state in the percentage of jobs gained. Canton-Massillon was second at 1.2 percent, followed by Cincinnati-Middletown at 1.1 percent.

The Columbus metro area had the largest increase in its unemployment rate -- 0.8 percentage points -- between November 2012 and November 2013 of any metro area of its size in the country. In November 2013, the Columbus area had a 6.1 percent unemployment rate.

Hannah Halbert, a policy liaison for Policy Matters Ohio, which follows the state's labor market, said Tuesday's figures offer yet more information that Ohio's economy shows troubling signs.

"This is unfortunate, but not surprising," she said of both Greater Cleveland's and the Columbus area's showing in the Labor Department report. "While the number of jobs did grow in Columbus and other Ohio cities, the state overall has been stuck in a job growth stalemate, with a very modest job gain of 0.4 percent over the last 12 months. According to figures released previously, the state has the fifth worst over-the-year growth rate in the nation. "

Nationally, after Cleveland, the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y., metro, where employment dropped by 4,500, came in second, followed by Peoria, Ill., which lost 3,100 jobs.

The large metro areas with the greatest employment percentage gains were: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla., with a 3.3 percent increase, followed by Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas, and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn., which each posted a 3.1 percent increase.