July 2001 — 2001-08-29

In July, 208 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 117 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Five metropolitan areas had unemployment rates below 2.0 percent. Of the seven areas with jobless rates above 10.0 percent, four were located in California and three were along the Mexican border in other states. Seventy-two areas registered rates of at least 5.5 percent, up from 57 areas in July 2000. Unemployment rates were below 2.5 percent in 19 areas, down from 36 areas a year earlier. Yuma, Ariz., where summer rates are typically about double those of the winter, continued to register the highest jobless rate, 29.5 percent, followed by Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif., 14.1 percent, and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, 13.6 percent. The lowest unemployment rates were recorded in Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn., 1.5 percent, and Sioux Falls, S.D., 1.6 percent.