The unemployment rate in the city of Fall River in April saw a steep drop to 9.5% down from 11.0% in March.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in April totaled 40,569 employees. 3,685 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 9.5% unemployment rate for April compares to a 25.0% unemployment rate for April of 2020, the first month with a spike in jobless resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Towns surrounding Fall River saw a drop in their unemployment rates:
Somerset, 5.1% (6.4% in March)
Swansea, 4.9% (6.5% in March)
Westport, 6.3% (7.9% in March)
Freetown, 5.2% (6.5% in March)
Gateway Cities across Massachusetts also saw their jobless rates fall in April.
New Bedford, 8.9% (10.2% in March)
Taunton, 7.1% (8.0% in March)
Brockton, 9.4% (10.1% in March)
Lowell, 7.7% (8.0% in March)
Lawrence, 13.6% (14.5% in March)
The state unemployment rate for April is 6.5%. Here is more information from the state Executive 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 May 25, 2021 — Local unemployment rates dropped in twenty-four labor market areas in the state during the month of April, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.
Compared to April 2020, the rates were down in twenty-four labor market areas.
All areas for which job estimates are published experienced gains in April. The largest percentage increases occurred in Barnstable, Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, and Springfield.
From April 2020 to April 2021, all fifteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases in the Barnstable, Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury, and New Bedford areas. Each of these areas experienced job increases greater than 20% over the year, a significant increase from the over the year job losses of greater than 9.5% that was published in March 2021.
In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide-unadjusted unemployment rate for April was 5.9 percent.
Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of April was 6.5 percent, down 0.2 percentage points following a revision to the March rate of 6.7 percent.
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed an increase of 5,100 jobs in April, and an over-the-year gain of 392,300 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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