New England Employment Largely Unchanged in April

BOSTON — The New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released New England and state unemployment numbers for April 2015. These data are supplied by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, which produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor-force data for U.S. Census regions and divisions, states, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of residence. Some highlights in the release:

• The New England unemployment rate was essentially unchanged from March, at 5.0% in April. One year ago, however, the New England jobless rate was higher, at 6.1%.

• Five New England states posted jobless rates that were significantly different from the U.S. rate of 5.4%. Vermont (3.6%), New Hampshire (3.8%), Maine (4.7%), and Massachusetts (4.7%) recorded lower-than-average unemployment rates. By contrast, Connecticut (6.3%) had a jobless rate that was significantly higher than the national average in April.

• Over the past year, five New England states recorded statistically significant unemployment-rate decreases, with declines ranging from 2.0% in Rhode Island to 0.4% in Vermont.