Jobs remain scarce in nation's cities, but signs of improvement exist.

The economic indicators for the nation's 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas show that jobs remain scarce, according to a report from the Brookings Institute's Metropolitan Policy Program. The Metro-Monitor report for June 2010 indicates some recent signs of improvement, notably in parts of the South and in areas that suffered most from the decline in the housing market. According to the report:

* All of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas had growth in output in the first quarter of 2010, but the rate of output growth declined in 90 metropolitan areas.

* Employment recovery has been much less widespread and less consistent than output recovery.

* All but one of the eight other metropolitan areas that gained jobs in the first quarter and the previous quarter are in the South.

* A substantial minority of metropolitan areas had made a complete output recovery by the first quarter of 2010, but none had made a complete jobs recovery.

* In March 2010, for the first time since the beginning of the recession, the unemployment rate was lower than it was a year ago in a few metropolitan areas.

* Of the 100 largest U.S...