WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates in September fell in 308 of the nation’s 388 metropolitan areas, with the jobless rate lower in both the D.C. region and Baltimore.
The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says the unemployment rate in the D.C. metro area in September was 3.3 percent, below the national average of 3.7 percent, and down from 3.5 percent in August.
Baltimore’s September unemployment rate was 4.0 percent, down from 4.4 percent in August.
The lowest unemployment rate in the nation continues to be in Ames, Iowa, just north of Iowa’s capital of Des Moines, and home to Iowa State University. The unemployment rate in September there was just 1.4 percent.
The highest unemployment rate in September was in the agricultural community of El Centro, California, near the Mexican border, at 19.3 percent.
Among cities with a population of 1 million or more, Minneapolis retains the title of lowest big city unemployment rate, at just 2.2 percent in September.
The highest big city unemployment rate in September was in New Orleans, at 4.8 percent.
