Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: September 2003 — 2003-10-29

In September, 166 metropolitan areas recorded higher unemployment rates than a year earlier, 143 areas had lower rates, and 22 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Fourteen areas posted unemployment rates below 3.0 percent, with nine of these located in the Midwest and four in the South. Seven metro- politan areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent; four of these were located in California's Central Valley and the other three were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 5.8 per- cent, not seasonally adjusted, in September. Sixty-six metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 percent in September, down from 74 areas a year earlier, while 49 areas recorded rates of at least 7.0 percent, up from 37 areas a year earlier. The lowest unem- ployment rates were posted in Columbia, Mo., and Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn., 2.0 percent each.