February 1998 — 1998-04-01

In February, 221 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (5.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 104 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The 20 metropolitan areas with the lowest unemployment rates were in the Midwest and South--regions with record low jobless rates. Seventeen of the 20 areas with the highest rates were in California or along the Mexican border in other states. Ninety-eight metropolitan areas had unemployment rates below 3.5 percent in February, while 49 reported rates of 6.5 percent or higher. As usual, the extreme unemployment rates occurred in relatively small labor markets. The lowest rates were recorded in Charlottesville, Va., Columbia, Mo., Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn., and Lincoln, Neb. (1.6 percent each), and in Bryan-College Station, Tex. (1.7 percent). The highest rates were in Merced, Calif. (18.9 percent), McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Tex. (18.8 percent), and Salinas and Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif. (17.7 percent each).