The unemployment rate in Fall River rose in January to 11.8%, up from the December 2020 rate of 10.6%.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in January totaled 40,950 employees. 4,816 people were recorded as being unemployed. The 11.8% unemployment rate for January compares to a 6.9% unemployment rate for January of 2020.
Towns surrounding Fall River also saw a rise in their unemployment rates:
- Somerset, 7.4% (6.3% in December)
- Swansea, 7.3% (6.6% in December)
- Westport, 8.6% (7.3% in December)
- Freetown, 7.3% (6.6% in December)
Gateway Cities across Massachusetts also saw increases in jobless in January. Brockton was the only city to see a decrease:
- New Bedford, 11.2% (10.2% in December)
- Taunton, 8.9% (8.7% in December)
- Brockton, 10.7% (11.0% in December)
- Lowell, 8.9% (8.8% in December)
- Lawrence, 15.5% (14.9% in December)
The state unemployment rate for January is 7.5%. 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 March 16, 2021 — Local unemployment rates dropped in one labor market area, remained unchanged in three areas, and increased in twenty labor market areas in the state during the month of January, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.
Compared to January 2020, the rates were up in twenty-four labor market areas.
All fifteen areas for which job estimates are published recorded job losses in January. The largest percentage losses occurred in Barnstable and Peabody-Salem-Beverly, with the largest job losses in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua and Springfield areas.
From January 2020 to January 2021, all fifteen areas lost jobs with the largest percentage loss in the Peabody-Salem-Beverly area followed by Leominster-Gardner, Pittsfield and Springfield 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 was 7.5 percent.
Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of January was 7.8 percent, down 0.6 percentage points from the December rate, following the annual year-end revisions.
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 35,500 job increase in January, and an over-the-year loss of 334,200 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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