Daily News

New England Unemployment Numbers Mixed in Recent Report

BOSTON — The New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released New England unemployment numbers for March 2015. These data are supplied by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics program, which produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor-force data for census regions and divisions, states, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities.

Among the report highlights, the New England unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.2% in March. One year ago, the New England jobless rate was higher, at 6.2%. Five New England states posted jobless rates that were significantly different from the U.S. rate of 5.5%; Vermont (3.8%), New Hampshire (3.9%), and Maine (4.8%) recorded lower-than-average unemployment rates, while Connecticut (6.4%) and Rhode Island (6.3%) had jobless rates that were significantly higher than the national average in March. Massachusetts tracked closest to the national rate.

Meanwhile, over the last year, four New England states recorded statistically significant unemployment-rate decreases, with declines ranging from 1.9% in Rhode Island to 0.6% in New Hampshire.