While all 49 United States metropolitan areas of one-million or more people have experienced increased unemployment during the recession, some large city areas have fared better than others.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, the two large metropolitan areas with the smallest unemployment rates are Oklahoma City at 5.7% and San Antonio at 5.8%. The figures were released on June 30.

A healthy city or region is not only helpful for landing a job, but also could be a good indicator for an area with people in position to spend entertainment dollars on sports.

Smaller cities that also posted low unemployment rates include Bismarck, North Dakota at 3.5 percent, Iowa City, Iowa at 3.7%, and Ames, Iowa at 3.8%.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, there were 14.7-million unemployed persons in June for an unemployment rate of 9.5%.

Both figures, released on July 2, are similar to the previous month’s figures. During June, there were large job declines in the manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction fields.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.2-million.

While these numbers are not encouraging, it is important to keep your own spirits up as you search for a sports career job. Keep in mind that many sports executives are optimistic that things will soon turn.

I have encouraged readers to tighten their resumes to the essentials.

Hand in hand with that idea is a cover letter targeted to the specific sports career position you are pursuing. The cover letter allows you to get into more depth about your qualifications for a specific job.

By covering it here, you highlight your qualifications and accomplishments while saving the reader the time of digging through a resume to find it.

I’ve posted an article with six ideas for improving your cover letter. If you’re just getting started, be sure to click through to the About.com Job Searching site on the links provided.

When choosing a sports business or management program at the university level, be sure to find one with top internship opportunities.

That seems to be the advice from the top sports executives and team owners who responded to the June Turnkey Sports Poll. Of the respondents, 34.5% listed “internship opportunities” as the most important element of a sports business education program.

That answer ranked first by a wide margin while “quality of faculty,” 15.9%, alumni connections, 15.1%; and “program’s official relationships with outside organizations,” 14.3%; picked up significant support.

These should all be factors to consider when you choose a school. Be sure to check out the profiles on this site.