City’s Unemployment Rate Falls Slightly in June

The unemployment rate in the City of Fall River in June fell to 5.3%, down from 5.4% in May.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in June totaled 40,627 employees. 2,158 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 5.3% unemployment rate for June compares to a 9.1% unemployment rate for June of 2021.

Here are the rates of communities surrounding Fall River:

Somerset, 3.9% (3.5% in May)
Swansea, 2.9% (3.0% in May)
Westport, 4.3% (4.2% in May)
Freetown, 3.3% (3.6% in May)

Rates in select Gateway Cities across Eastern Massachusetts all rose last month:

New Bedford, 5.8% (5.5% in May)
Taunton, 4.3% (4.0% in May)
Brockton, 5.0% (4.9% in May)
Lowell, 4.1% (3.9% in May)
Lawrence, 7.3% (6.8% in May)

The state unemployment rate for May fell to 3.7%. Here is more information from the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development:

From the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

BOSTON, MA July 26, 2022 — Local unemployment rates dropped in three labor areas, increased in nineteen and remained unchanged in two labor market areas in the state during the month of June compared to May, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.

Compared to June 2021, the rates were down in twenty-four labor market areas.

Of the fifteen areas for which estimates are published, fourteen areas gained jobs. The largest percentage increases occurred in the Barnstable Town (+8.6%), Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury Town (+2.0%), New Bedford (+1.9%), and Pittsfield (+1.8%) areas.

From June 2021 to June 2022, all fifteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases seen in Boston-Cambridge-Newton (+5.8%), Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem (+4.6%), Springfield (+4.3%), and Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford (+4.1%) areas.

In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide-unadjusted unemployment rate for June 2022 was 3.5 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point over-the-month.

Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of June 2022 was 3.7 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from the May 2022 estimate of 3.9 percent.

The statewide seasonally adjusted preliminary jobs estimate showed an increase of 3,400 jobs in June, and an over-the-year gain of 164,700 jobs.

The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and therefore may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates.

The estimates for labor force, unemployment rates and jobs for Massachusetts are based on different statistical methodology specified by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).