Cities’ unemployment rates rise

AROUND MISSISSIPPI — Unemployment rates were higher in September than a year earlier in 371 of the 372 metropolitan areas and lower in 1 area, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.

Thirteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15 percent, while 12 areas registered rates below 5 percent.

Among the 369 metropolitan areas for which non-farm payroll employment data were available, 359 areas reported over-the-year decreases in employment.

Among the four Mississippi metropolitan statistical areas tracked in September, Pascagoula had the highest unemployment rate at 8.3 percent. Hattiesburg’s rate was 7.5 percent, Gulfport-Biloxi’s was 7.3 percent and Jackson’s was 7.1 percent. All of those rates were significantly higher than in Sept. 2008.