July 02, 2009
(The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Metro areas with lowest unemployment rates in May 2009
In May 2009, 97 metropolitan areas posted unemployment rates below 7.0 percent, down from 333 areas in May 2008. Bismarck, North Dakota, registered the lowest jobless rate in May, 3.5 percent.
[Chart data—TXT]
Following Bismarck were Iowa City, Iowa, 3.7 percent, and Ames, Iowa, 3.8 percent.
The large areas (metropolitan areas with a Census 2000 population of 1 million or more) with the lowest jobless rates in May were Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and San Antonio, Texas, 5.7 and 5.8 percent, respectively.
In May 2009, there were 215 areas that recorded unemployment rates below the unemployment rate for the U.S. as a whole, 9.1 percent.
These data are from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program and are not seasonally adjusted. The most recent metropolitan area unemployment rates are preliminary and subject to revision. To learn more, see "Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment: May 2009" (PDF) (HTML), news release USDL 09-0741.
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