Fall River’s Unemployment Rate Jumps in January

Keith Thibault March 15, 2022 Comments Off on Fall River’s Unemployment Rate Jumps in January

The unemployment rate in the City of Fall River in January rose sharply to 9.6%, up from 7.3% in December.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in January totaled 41,6120 employees. 3,999 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 9.6% unemployment rate for January compares to a 12.1% unemployment rate for January of 2021.

Here are the rates of communities surrounding Fall River:

Somerset, 5.5% (4.1% in December)
Swansea, 5.8% (3.8% in December)
Westport, 6.9% (4.6% in December)
Freetown, 6.0% (4.6% in December)

Rates in Gateway Cities across Eastern Massachusetts were all higher last month:

New Bedford, 8.9% (6.4% in December)
Taunton, 6.3% (5.2% in December)
Brockton, 7.0% (6.4% in December)
Lowell, 5.6% (5.0% in December)
Lawrence, 9.8% (8.7% in December)

The state unemployment rate for January rose to 4.8%. 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 15, 2022 — Local unemployment rates increased in twenty-four labor market areas in the state during the month of January, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.

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

All fifteen metropolitan areas for which job estimates are published experienced losses over the month in January 2022. The largest percentage decreases occurred in Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton (-3.6%), Barnstable Town (-3.5%), and Leominster-Gardner (-2.9%) areas.

From January 2021 to January 2022, all fifteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases seen in Barnstable Town (+7.6%), Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead (+6.1%), and Springfield (+5.9%) areas.

In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide-unadjusted unemployment rate for January, 2022 was 5.0 percent, up 0.9 percentage point from December, 2021.

Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of January, 2022 was 4.8 percent, up two-tenths of a percentage point from the revised December, 2021 estimate of 4.6 percent.

The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed an increase of 10,600 jobs in January, and an over-the-year gain of 178,100 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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