BARNSTABLE – The jobless rate in 24 of the state’s labor markets went down in November 2023, compared to the year before.
The numbers were released this week by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
Of the fifteen areas for which employment estimates are published, nine areas gained jobs compared to the previous month.
The largest percentage increases occurred in the Leominster-Gardner (+1.1%), Framingham (+0.4%), and Springfield MA-CT (+0.4%) areas.
From November 2022 to November 2023, fourteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases seen in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton (+2.9%), Taunton-Middleborough-Norton (+2.6%), and Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem MA-NH (+2.4%) areas.
The statewide seasonally adjusted preliminary jobs estimate showed an increase of 3,200 jobs in November, and an over-the-year gain of 66,100 jobs.
In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for November 2023 was 2.8%, up 0.2 percentage points from the revised October 2023 estimate and 0.7 percentage points below the nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.5%.
Recently, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of November 2023 was 2.9%, up 0.1 percentage point compared to the revised October 2023 estimate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2023 was 3.7%.
The unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and therefore may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates.
The estimates for labor force, unemployment rates, and jobs for Massachusetts are based on different statistical methodology specified by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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