December 1998 — 1999-02-03

In December, 212 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 110 areas had higher rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Of the 27 metropolitan areas with rates below 2.0 percent, 13 were located in the Midwest, 10 in the South, and 4 in the Northeast. Of the 13 areas with jobless rates above 9.0 percent, 8 were in California, and 4 others were along the Mexican border in other states. Unemployment rates below 3.5 percent were reported in 170 metropolitan areas in December, while rates of 6.5 percent or higher were recorded in 33 areas. The lowest jobless rates were in Charlottesville, Va. (1.1 percent), Columbia, Mo. (1.2 percent), and Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C., and Rochester, Minn. (both 1.3 percent). Six of the eight areas with rates of 1.5 percent or less were in the Midwest. The highest rates continued to be in Yuma, Ariz. (20.0 percent), McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Tex.