Cape Cod Unemployment Numbers Show Steady Economy

HYANNIS – More jobs were added, but the unemployment rate in July was up just slightly from a year ago in Barnstable County.

The unemployment rate for Barnstable County was 3.8 percent last month, that’s up from 3.5 percent in July 2016.

But it’s less than the 4.2 percent rate in June.

Despite the rate being up last year, Cape and Islands Workforce Investment Board Executive Director David Augustinho said he’s still pleased with the outlook.

“I think it’s been a pretty strong summer, I think these rates are consistent with what we would expect to see in our busiest summer months and we probably won’t start seeing an uptick until September or October,” said Augustinho.

In Plymouth County, it was 4.6 percent last month, compared to 4.1 percent last July.

The trend also continued for the islands, where Nantucket County saw slight increase from 1.8 percent in July 2016 to 2 percent last month and in Dukes County, where it went from 2.8 percent to 3 percent last month.

“Back in the 70s and 80s, 5 percent we thought was full employment but we didn’t think we would get much below that, so the fact of the matter is, is that there are just not a lot of potential workers available for our employers,” said Augustinho.

The state unemployment rate for also saw an uptick, going from 3.9 in July 2016 to 4.4 percent in July 2017.

By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter

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