May 1998 — 1998-07-01

In May, 203 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 116 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Of the 19 metropolitan areas with rates below 2.0 percent, 14 were located in the Midwest and 5 were in the South. Nearly two-thirds of the 20 areas with the highest rates were in the West, with 10 of these in California. Unemployment rates were below 3.5 percent in May in 137 metropolitan areas, while rates of 6.5 percent or higher were reported in 28 areas. The lowest jobless rates were recorded in Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn. (1.1 percent), and Madison, Wis. (1.2 percent), followed by 17 other areas with rates below 2.0 percent. The highest rate in May was in Yuma, Ariz. (31.2 percent), where summer jobless rates each year are nearly double the winter rates. Yuba City, Calif. (15.4 percent), Merced, Calif. (14.7 percent), and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Tex.