May 1999 — 1999-06-30

In May, 209 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 115 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Of the 17 metropolitan areas with rates below 2.0 percent, 11 were located in the Midwest and 3 each were in the Northeast and the South. Seven of the eight areas with jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent were in the West, with six of these in California. One hundred and three metropolitan areas reported unemployment rates below 3.0 percent in May, while 35 areas recorded rates above 6.0 percent. The lowest jobless rates were in Columbia, Mo. (1.1 percent), and Charlottesville, Va. (1.2 percent). The highest rate, 33.9 percent, was in Yuma, Ariz., where midyear jobless rates are near double those for November- February. Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif., followed with the second highest unemployment rate, (15.6 percent).