Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: March 2004 — 2004-04-28

In March, 257 metropolitan areas recorded lower unemployment rates than a year earlier, 65 areas had higher rates, and 9 areas had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Ten areas posted unemployment rates below 3.0 percent, with eight of these located in the South and two in the Midwest. Thirteen metropolitan areas had jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent; nine of these were located in California and three were along the Mexican border in other states. The national unemployment rate was 6.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in March. Sixty-three metropolitan areas reported jobless rates below 4.0 percent in March, up from 40 areas a year earlier. Fifty-eight areas recorded rates of at least 7.0 percent, down from 79 areas in March 2003.