Latest Seasonally Unadjusted Job and Unemployment Estimates for Local Labor Markets in Massachusetts

Latest Seasonally Unadjusted Job and Unemployment Estimates for Local Labor Markets in Massachusetts

BOSTON MA – August 19, 2014 – The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) today reported that the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates for July were up in 19 labor market areas; down in two areas; and one area remained unchanged according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Over the year, unemployment rates were down in all the labor market areas.

The preliminary statewide unadjusted unemployment rate estimate for July was 6.1 percent, up 0.5 of a percentage point from June.  Over the year, the statewide unadjusted rate was down 1.2 percent from the July 2013 rate of 7.3 percent.

During July, four of the 12 areas for which job estimates are published recorded seasonal job gains.  The largest job gain was in the Barnstable area followed by the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Pittsfield and Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford areas.  Losses occurred in the remaining eight areas, the largest of which was in Springfield followed by Worcester, New Bedford, Framingham and Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner. Since July 2013, all 12 areas added jobs with the largest percentage gains in the Worcester, Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury, Peabody, Framingham and Springfield areas.

The seasonally adjusted statewide July unemployment rate, released on August 14, was 5.6 percent, up 0.1 of a percentage point over the month and down 1.6 percent over the year.  The rate is still the lowest since August 2008 and is below the 6.2 percent national unemployment rate. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 13,800 job gain in July and an over the year gain of 67,300 jobs.

The labor force, unemployment rates and jobs estimates for Massachusetts, and for every other state, are based on several different statistical methodologies specified by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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.

NOTES:  The preliminary August 2014 and revised July 2014 unemployment rate, labor force data, and jobs estimates for Massachusetts will be released on September 18, 2014; local unemployment statistics will be released on September 23, 2014.  Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi. See the 2014 Media