HYANNIS – The unemployment rate for Cape Cod in October was up slightly from a year ago but remained the same from last month.
The rate was 3.4 percent last month up from 3 percent last October.
Cape and Islands Workforce Development Board Executive Director David Augustinho said he is surprised the rate did not increase from September.
“I think it speaks a little bit to the fact that the Cape is more of a year round economy than it ever has been,” Augustinho said.
He said there should have been some kind of a drop off in October from the month before. There were a few thousand less people working in October, but there were less unemployed as the labor force was smaller.
“When we get into November’s numbers we’re going to see probably a little bit of increased employment from the Christmas stuff,” Augustinho said.
The unemployment rate on Martha’s Vineyard increased from 2.9 percent in 2016 to 3.6 percent last month. The Nantucket rate was up slightly from 2.1 to 2.4 percent.
Overall unemployment in the state was up 0.5 percent from October 2016 to 3.3 percent. The rate dropped slightly from 3.5 percent in September.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
