The unemployment rate in Fall River fell in October to 8.6%, down from the September rate of 12.8%.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in October totaled 39,819 employees. 3,409 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 8.6% unemployment rate for October compares to a 3.9% unemployment rate for October of 2019.
Towns surrounding Fall River also saw a drop in their unemployment rates:
- Somerset, 5.8% (8.8% in September)
- Swansea, 5.1% (7.6% in September)
- Westport, 6.8% (8.8% in September)
- Freetown, 5.9% (8.3% in September)
Gateway Cities across Massachusetts also saw a drop in unemployment for October:
- New Bedford, 9.1% (13.5% rate for September)
- Taunton, 8.3% (11.8% in September)
- Brockton, 10.5% (15.2% in September)
- Lowell, 8.0% (11.6%% in September)
- Lawrence, 14.0% (20.4% in September)
The state unemployment rate for October is 6.9%. Here is more information from the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development on the local numbers:
BOSTON, MA November 24, 2020 — Local unemployment rates decreased in twenty-four labor market areas in the state during the month of October, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.
Compared to October 2019, the rates were up in twenty-four labor market areas.
Thirteen of the fifteen areas for which job estimates are published recorded job gains in October. The largest gains occurred in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Springfield, Framingham, and Worcester areas. The jobs level in the Pittsfield area remained unchanged over the month while a loss occurred in the Barnstable area.
From October 2019 to October 2020, all fifteen areas lost jobs with the largest percentage losses in the Barnstable, Springfield, Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Leominster-Gardner, Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, and Lawrence-Methuen-Salem areas.
In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide-unadjusted unemployment rate for October was 6.9 percent.
Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of October was 7.4 percent, 2.4 percentage points below the revised September rate of 9.8 percent.
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 11,400 job gain in October, and an over-the-year loss of 340,200 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).
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