The unemployment rate in Fall River fell in June to a rate of 22.7%, down from the May rate of 23.0%.
The Massachusetts Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in June totaled 42,893 employees. 9,742 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 22.7% unemployment rate for June compares to a 5.0% unemployment rate for June of 2019.
Towns surrounding Fall River also saw a drop in their unemployment rates: Somerset, 17.7% (18.7% in May), Swansea 15.2% (16.3% in May), Westport, 17.5% (18.5% in May) and Freetown, 16.0% (17.5% in May).
Most Gateway Cities in Massachusetts saw an uptick in unemployment for June. New Bedford recorded a rate of 24.1%, slightly lower than its 24.2% rate for May Taunton also saw a slight dip, falling to 21.2% in June, down from 21.3% in May. Brockton saw a rise in unemployment to 25.%, up from 23.3% in May. Lowell’s rate rose to 20.5%, up from 18.7% in May. Lawrence recorded a rate of 32.6%, up from 29.8% in May.
Here is more information from the state Office of Labor and Workforce Development on the local numbers:
Latest Seasonally Unadjusted Unemployment and Job Estimates for Local Labor Markets in Massachusetts
BOSTON, MA July 21, 2020 — Local unemployment rates increased in seventeen labor market areas and decreased in seven areas in the state during the month of June, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.
Compared to June 2019, the rates were up in twenty-four labor market areas.
All fifteen areas for which job estimates are published recorded job gains in June. The largest gains occurred in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Worcester, Barnstable, Framingham, Springfield, Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, and Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton areas.
From June 2019 to June 2020, all fifteen areas lost jobs with the largest percentage losses in the Barnstable, Pittsfield, Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, 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 June was 17.5 percent.
Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of June was 17.4 percent, eight-tenths of a percentage point above the revised May rate of 16.6 percent.
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed an 83,700 job gain in June, and an over-the-year loss of 529,800 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).
Comments are closed.