Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: December 2003 — 2004-02-04

In December, 194 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 118 areas had higher rates, and 19 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Fifteen areas posted unemployment rates below 3.0 percent, with eight of these located in the South and six in the Midwest. Twelve metropolitan areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent; eight of these were located in California's agricultural Central Valley and three were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in December. Eighty-two metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 percent in December, up from 71 areas a year earlier, while 42 areas recorded rates of at least 7.0 percent, down slightly from 45 areas in December 2002. The lowest unemployment rates were posted in Bryan-College Station, Texas, and Columbia, Mo., 1.9 percent each.