Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: August 2006 — 2006-09-27

Unemployment rates were lower in August than a year earlier in 238 of the 367 metropolitan areas, higher in 94 areas, and unchanged in 35 areas, 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, while 2 areas recorded rates of 10.0 percent or more. The na- tional unemployment rate was 4.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 4.9 percent a year earlier. In August, 115 metropolitan areas reported unemployment rates below 4.0 percent, up from 87 areas a year earlier, while 24 areas posted rates of at least 7.0 percent, down slightly from 26 areas in August 2005. Fargo, N.D.- Minn., had the lowest unemployment rate, 2.0 percent, followed by Sioux Falls, S.D., and Idaho Falls, Idaho, at 2.3 and 2.4 percent, respectively. El Centro, Calif., and Yuma, Ariz.--two adjacent, highly agricultural areas with extreme weather--registered the highest jobless rates, 17.4 percent each.