Unemployment Rates Down Across Massachusetts in April

BOSTON — The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates for April were down in all labor market areas over the month and over the year.

During April, all 15 areas for which job estimates are published recorded seasonal job gains. The largest job gains were in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Springfield, Barnstable, Worcester, and Framingham areas. Since last April, 14 areas added jobs, with the largest percentage gains in the Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton, Lynn-Saugus-Marblehead, Leominster-Gardner, Barnstable, Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, and Worcester areas.

In order to compare the statewide rate to the local unemployment rates, BLS estimates that the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for April was 4.1%, down 0.9% from the March 2015 rate. Over the year, the statewide unadjusted rate was down 1.4% from the April 2014 rate of 5.5%.