March 2013 Jobless Rates Down Over the Year in 306 of 372 Metro Areas; Payroll Jobs Up in 287

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—May 1, 2013. Unemployment rates were lower in March than a year earlier in 306 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 44 areas, and unchanged in 22 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Seven areas had jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, and 33 areas had rates of less than 5.0 percent. Two hundred eighty-seven metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 80 had decreases, and 5…