Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: August 2004 — 2004-09-29

In August, 268 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 50 areas had higher rates, and 13 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Twenty metropolitan areas had jobless rates below 3.0 percent, with eight of these located in the South and seven in the Mid- west. Eight areas reported unemployment rates of at least 10.0 percent; five of these were located in California and two were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 5.4 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in August. Ninety-five metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 per- cent in August, up from 54 areas a year earlier, while 36 areas registered unemployment rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 66 areas in August 2003.