Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: December 2004 — 2005-02-02

In December, 257 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 57 areas had higher rates, and 17 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Twenty-six metropolitan areas registered jobless rates below 3.0 percent, with 16 of these located in the South. Ten metropolitan areas posted jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent; seven of these were located in California and two were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in December, not seasonally adjusted. Unemployment rates below 4.0 percent were recorded in 106 metropolitan areas in December, up from 73 areas a year earlier, while rates of at least 7.0 percent were registered in 34 areas, down from 50 areas in December 2003. As it did in nearly every month of 2004, Bryan-College Station, Texas, posted the lowest unemployment rate, 1.8 percent in December.