Employment Report Mixed in June, but Job Growth Up Since Last Year
BOSTON — Local unemployment rates increased in 21 labor-market areas in the state during the month of June and dropped in two areas, while one remained the same, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported Tuesday. Compared to June 2015, the local unemployment rates were lower in all areas.
Thirteen of the 15 areas added jobs over the month, with the largest gains in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Barnstable, Framingham, Pittsfield, and Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury areas. Some of the job gains in the information sector reflect the end of a temporary labor dispute in May.
From June 2015 to June 2016, 14 labor markets in the state added jobs, with the largest percentage gains in the Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury area, along with Taunton-Middleborough-Norton, Pittsfield, and Boston-Cambridge-Quincy.
In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for June was 4.3%. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.2% in June, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported last week. The unemployment rate is down 0.7% over the year.
The state showed an estimated 16,400 seasonally adjusted job gains in June, boosted partially by the resolution of a temporary labor dispute. The over-the-year job gains are estimated at 67,300.
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.
