Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: September 2005 — 2005-11-02

Unemployment rates were lower in September than a year earlier in 207 of the 367 metropolitan areas, higher in 128 areas, and unchanged in 32 areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Thirteen metropolitan areas registered jobless rates be- low 3.0 percent, while 7 areas recorded rates of 10.0 percent or more. Five of these seven were metropolitan areas in Louisiana and Mississippi affected by Hurricane Katrina. The national unemployment rate was 4.8 per- cent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 5.1 percent a year earlier. In September, 93 metropolitan areas registered unemployment rates below 4.0 percent, up from 74 areas a year earlier, while 31 areas reported un- employment rates of at least 7.0 percent, up slightly from 27 areas in September 2004. Bismarck, N.D., Fargo, N.D.-Minn., and Idaho Falls, Idaho, recorded the lowest unemployment rates in September 2005, 2.4 percent each.