HYANNIS – The unemployment rate remained low for Cape Cod throughout the shoulder season.
The rate for Barnstable County was 3.5 percent in November, which was down from 4 percent last year and up from 3.1 percent in October.
“I don’t know how the heck we are doing it but 3.5 percent in November is pretty darn good for our economy,” said David Augustinho, the executive director of the MassHire Cape & Islands Workforce Board.
Unemployment on Martha’s Vineyard was down from 5 percent in November 2017 to 4.3 percent.
The Nantucket rate dropped slightly from 3.8 last year to 3.7 percent.
Augustinho said the region is in full employment.
“Back in the old days we used to talk about 5 percent as being full employment and we have certainly exceeded that,” he said. “I would say that anyone who essentially wants to be working has a job.”
Augustinho says he expects unemployment to increase through the winter months beginning in January following the holiday seasonal hiring period.
“Certainly in January, February and March the numbers should switch,” he said.
The low unemployment is still causing issues for employers who are seeking workers to fill available positions. Augustinho said that is especially the case for the trade industries, insurance and banking.
“It’s not just finding bodies, it’s finding qualified workers,” Augustinho said.
Augustinho said the workforce board expects to help train for technology positions around the water-based Blue Economy Initiative, along with providing training for the region’s manufacturing sector.
The statewide unemployment rate for November was 2.6 percent which was down from 3 percent last year and 2.9 percent in October.
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