Metro Jobless Rates Fall As More Workers Drop Out

CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The unemployment rate fell in September in most metro areas for the second straight month, although that's largely because more people gave up on job searches than found new work.

"The job market is not recovering at all yet," said Jim Diffley, regional economist for IHS Global Insight. "We're looking at another jobless recovery."

The September unemployment rate fell in 223 of 380 metro areas, or about 59 percent. The jobless rate rose in 123 metro areas, and was unchanged in 34.

But in many cases the drops resulted from discouraged workers leaving the labor force, perhaps to return to school. Once jobless workers stop looking for work, they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate.

That trend is likely to continue for several months, Diffley said. But as the economy slowly improves, many of the discouraged workers are then likely to return to the labor force, he added.

The government is expected to report Thursday that the nation's economy grew at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the July-September period, ending the worst recession since the 1930s.