Unemployment

Unemployment rates fell in April for more than 90 percent of the nation's 372 largest metro areas as hiring picked up around the country.   The Labor Department says the jobless rate dropped in 346 areas last month. It rose in only 12 and remained flat in 14.

That's much better than March, when unemployment fell in 257 areas and rose in 89.

Much of the improvement was seen in Midwestern regions with significant manufacturing operations. Manufacturers, who added 44,000 jobs nationwide in April, are benefiting from increasing overseas sales and efforts by retailers and other U.S. companies to restock their warehouses.

For example, Monroe, Mich., near Detroit, saw its unemployment rate fall to 13.4 percent in April from 16 percent in March. Joblessness in Longview, Washington, which hosts several paper and packaging makers, dropped to 8.5 percent from 10.1 percent. And unemployment in Anderson, S.C., which is home to many auto parts companies, fell to 10.7 percent from 12.3 percent.