Fall River’s Unemployment Rate Spikes to End the Year

Keith Thibault January 24, 2023 Comments Off on Fall River’s Unemployment Rate Spikes to End the Year

The unemployment rate in the City of Fall River in December rose nearly a full percentage point to 5.6%, up from 4.7% in November.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports that the labor force in Fall River in November totaled 39,840 employees. 2,215 people were recorded as unemployed. The 5.6% unemployment rate for November compares to the 7.3% unemployment rate for December of 2021.

Here are the rates of communities surrounding Fall River:

Somerset, 3.7% (3.4% in November)
Swansea, 3.3% (2.6% in November)
Westport, 3.8% (3.4% in November)
Freetown, 3.5% (3.0% in November)

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

New Bedford, 5.8% (5.1% in November)
Taunton, 4.2% (3.8% in November)
Brockton, 4.5% (4.2% in November)
Lowell, 3.7% (3.3% in November)
Lawrence, 6.3% (5.9% in November)

The state unemployment rate for December dropped last month to 3.3%. Here is more information from the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development:

From the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development

BOSTON, MA January 24, 2023 — Local unemployment rates increased in twenty-four labor market areas in the state during the month of December compared to November, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.

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

Of the fifteen areas for which employment estimates are published, three NECTA areas gained jobs compared to the previous month. The largest increases occurred in the Framingham (+0.2%), Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem MA-NH (+0.2%), and Leominster-Gardner (+0.2%) areas.

From December 2021 to December 2022, fourteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases seen in the Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford MA-NH (+5.2%), Boston-Cambridge-Newton (+4.5%), and Leominster-Gardner (+3.9%) areas.

The statewide seasonally adjusted preliminary jobs estimate showed an increase of 6,300 jobs in December, and an over-the-year gain of 134,500 jobs.

In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for December 2022 was 3.2 percent, up three-tenths of a percentage point from the revised November estimate and one-tenth of a percentage point below the nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.3 percent.

Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of December 2022 was 3.3 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the revised November 2022 estimate of 3.4 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2022 was 3.5 percent.

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 Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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