The unemployment rate in the City of Fall River in February fell one full percentage point to 8.6%, down from 9.6% in January.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in February totaled 41,439 employees. 3,569 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 8.6% unemployment rate for February compares to an 11.9% unemployment rate for February of 2021.
Here are the rates of communities surrounding Fall River:
Somerset, 4.9% (5.5% in January)
Swansea, 5.1% (5.8% in January)
Westport, 6.3% (6.9% in January)
Freetown, 5.9% (6.0% in January)
Rates in Gateway Cities across Eastern Massachusetts were all lower last month:
New Bedford, 7.9% (8.9% in January)
Taunton, 5.5% (6.3% in January)
Brockton, 6.0% (7.0% in January)
Lowell, 4.8% (5.6% in January)
Lawrence, 8.8% (9.8% in January)
The state unemployment rate for February fell to 4.7%. Here is more information from the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development on the local numbers:
From the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development
BOSTON, MA March 29, 2022 — Local unemployment rates dropped in twenty-four labor market areas in the state during the month of February, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.
Compared to February 2021, the rates were down in twenty-four labor market areas.
Of the fifteen areas for which estimates are published, nine areas gained jobs, three areas had no changes, and three areas reported losses. The largest percentage increases occurred in the Springfield (+2.4%), Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton (+1.6%), and Boston-Cambridge-Newton (+1.0%) areas. Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead area reported the largest percentage loss (-0.7%).
From February 2021 to February 2022, all fifteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases seen in Barnstable Town (+7.1%), Springfield (+6.0%), and Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford (+5.8%) areas.
In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide-unadjusted unemployment rate for February 2022 was 4.3 percent, down 0.7 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 February 2022 was 4.7 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the January 2022 estimate of 4.8 percent.
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed an increase of 14,600 jobs in February, and an over-the-year gain of 173,500 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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