July 1999 — 1999-09-01

In July, 215 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 110 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Among the 16 metropolitan areas with jobless rates below 2.0 percent, 11 were in the Midwest. Of the eight areas with rates above 10.0 percent, six were in California, and the other two were along the Mexican border in other states. Eighty-seven metropolitan areas reported unemployment rates below 3.0 percent in July, while 46 areas recorded rates above 6.0 percent. The lowest jobless rates were in Madison, Wis., and Sioux Falls, S.D. (both 1.3 percent), and Charlottesville, Va. (1.4 percent). The highest rate was in Yuma, Ariz. (35.3 percent), where summer jobless rates tend to be about double the winter rates each year. The area with the next highest rate was Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif. (17.1 percent).