AP PhotoLafayette, La. - Louisiana comes out on top of one survey of the nation's unemployment rate.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Lafayette metropolitan area is showing the largest gain in employment in the nation. The department compared metropolitan area numbers from October of this year to October of last year.
Right now, the unemployment rate in Lafayette is 4.2 percent. The state's unemployment rate is 6.3 percent. The nation's unemployment rate stands at 7.9 percent.
Unemployment rates declined last month in more than half of the 372 largest U.S. cities, further evidence of steady improvement in the job market.
The Labor Department says rates fell in 201 metropolitan areas. They rose in 116 and were unchanged in 55. The number of cities with unemployment below 7 percent rose to 180 last month, up from 107 a year ago.
