July 1998 — 1998-09-02

In July, 213 of the 328 metropolitan areas had unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 111 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Of the 17 metropolitan areas with jobless rates below 2 percent, 13 were in the Midwest. Of the 15 areas with rates above 10 percent, 7 were in California and 4 were along the Mexican border in other states. Unemployment rates were below 3.5 percent in 119 metropolitan areas in July, while rates of 6.5 percent or higher were reported in 49 areas. The lowest jobless rates were recorded in Fargo-Moorhead, N.D.-Minn. (1.1 percent), Sioux Falls, S.D. (1.3 percent), and Charlottesville, Va., and Rochester, Minn. (1.4 percent each). The highest rates were in Yuma, Ariz. (33.0 percent), where summer jobless rates are roughly double the winter rates each year, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Tex. (16.8 percent), and Visalia- Tulare-Porterville, Calif. (16.1 percent).