Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: September 2002 — 2002-10-30

In September, 231 metropolitan areas recorded higher unemployment rates than a year earlier, 78 areas had lower rates, and 22 had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Six metropolitan areas posted rates of at least 10.0 per- cent, all of which were located in either California's agricultural Central Valley or along the Mexican border in other states. Twenty-eight areas registered jobless rates below 3.0 percent, with 10 located in the Midwest and 10 in the South. The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in September, not seasonally adjusted. Fifty-three metropolitan areas had rates below 3.5 percent in September, down from 72 a year earlier, while 47 areas recorded unemployment rates of at least 6.5 percent, up from 30 areas in September 2001. Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn., posted the lowest jobless rate, 1.7 percent, closely followed by Bryan-College Station, Texas, and Sioux Falls, S.D., 1.8 percent each.