Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: June 2004 — 2004-07-28

In June, 275 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 38 areas had higher rates, and 18 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Thirteen metropolitan areas had jobless rates below 3.0 percent, with five located in the Midwest, five in the South, and three in the Northeast. Eleven areas posted unemployment rates of at least 10.0 per- cent; six of these were located in California, and three were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 5.8 per- cent, not seasonally adjusted, in June. Sixty-six metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 percent in June, compared with 40 areas a year earlier, while 51 areas recorded rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 88 areas in June 2003.