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Washington, Baltimore among few cities with rising unemployment rates

By Jeff Clabaugh

WASHINGTON — The D.C. area and Baltimore are among only 20 metros where unemployment rates rose in May.

The Labor Department says unemployment rates fell in 350 of the nation’s cities and were unchanged in 18.

The Washington metro area’s unemployment rate in May was 3.2 percent, up from 3.1 percent in April, though lower than the 3.6 percent unemployment rate in May of 2017.

Baltimore’s unemployment rate last month rose to 4.0 percent, from 3.9 percent in April. Baltimore’s jobless rate in May 2016 was 4.1 percent.

Among cities with a population of 1 million or more, Denver, Minneapolis, Nashville and San Jose all tied for the lowest unemployment rate in May at 2.3 percent. Cleveland had the highest large city unemployment rate at 4.9 percent.

Among all metro areas tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ames, Iowa, had the lowest May unemployment rate at just 1.5 percent. Yuma, Arizona had the highest at 16.0 percent.

Massachusetts court hears arguments in lawsuit alleging Meta designed apps to be addictive to kids

By The Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts' highest court heard oral arguments Friday in the state's lawsuit arguing that Meta designed features on Facebook and Instagram to make them addictive to young users. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by Attorney General Andrea Campbell, alleges that Meta did this to make a profit and that its actions affected hundreds of thousands of teenagers in Massachusetts who use the social media platforms. “We are making claims based only on the tools that Meta has developed because its own research shows they encourage addiction to the platform in a variety of ways,” said State Solicitor David Kravitz, adding that the state's claim has nothing to do the company's algorithms or failure to moderate content. Meta said Friday that it strongly disagrees with the allegations and is “confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.” Its attorney, Mark Mosier, argued in court that the lawsuit “would impose liabilities for performing traditional publishing functions” and that its actions are protected by the First Amendment.
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