Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: April 2004 — 2004-06-02

In April, 274 of the 331 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 43 areas had higher rates, and 14 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Twenty-two areas registered unemployment rates be- low 3.0 percent, with 11 of these located in the South and 8 in the Midwest. Nine metropolitan areas posted jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, seven of which were in California and two were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate in April was 5.4 percent, not season- ally adjusted. Eighty-eight metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 per- cent in April, up from 57 areas a year earlier. Thirty-eight areas re- corded rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 60 areas in April 2003.