Metropolitan Area Employment And Unemployment: June 2002 — 2002-07-31

In June, 268 metropolitan areas recorded higher unemployment rates than a year earlier, 54 areas had lower rates, and 9 had rates that were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Eleven metropolitan areas registered jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, six of which were located in California's Central Valley and three of which were along the Mexican border in other states. Fifteen areas recorded unemployment rates below 3.0 percent, with six of these areas in the Midwest, five in the South, and four in the Northeast. The national unemployment rate in June was 6.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted. Eighty metropolitan areas posted unemployment rates of at least 6.5 percent in June, up from 49 areas a year earlier, while 31 areas had rates below 3.5 percent, down from 67 areas in June 2001.