Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: May 2004 — 2004-06-30

In May, 280 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 39 areas had higher rates, and 12 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Twenty areas posted unemployment rates below 3.0 percent, with 11 of these located in the South and 5 in the Midwest. Eight metro- politan areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent; six of these were located in California, and the other two were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 5.3 percent, not season- ally adjusted, in May. Ninety-three metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 percent in May, up from 63 areas a year earlier, while 32 areas recorded rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 58 areas in May 2003.