new england and state unemployment – March 2013

The New England unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in March and essentially unchanged from February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that New England’s jobless rate one year ago was 7.1 percent. The national jobless rate, at 7.6 percent, was little changed from a month ago (7.7 percent), and was 0.6 percentage point lower than in March 2012. (See chart 1.)

New England is one of nine geographic divisions nationwide. During March, the Pacific division continued to report the highest jobless rate, 8.8 percent, while the West North Central division registered the lowest rate, 5.4 percent. Over the year, four divisions reported significant unemployment rate decreases. The largest of these declines occurred in the Pacific division (-1.3 percentage points). The New England division did not report a statistically significant unemployment rate decline over the year.

In March, four of the six New England states posted jobless rates that were significantly different from that of the United States. Vermont (4.1 percent), New Hampshire (5.7 percent), and Massachusetts (6.4 percent) recorded significantly lower unemployment rates and were among 21 states in the country to do so. In contrast, Rhode Island (9.1 percent) had a jobless rate that was significantly higher than the national average. Rhode Island was among 11 states and the District of Columbia with unemployment rates measurably higher than the national average. Connecticut and Maine were among the 18 remaining states which registered unemployment rates not appreciably different from that of the nation.

Rhode Island (-0.3 percentage point), Vermont (-0.3 point), and Maine (-0.2 point) were the only New England states to record statistically significant unemployment rate changes over the month, all declines. The declines recorded in Rhode Island and Vermont were among the largest recorded among the states nationally. Ten additional states, also recorded statistically significant jobless rate declines over the month. The remaining 37 states and the District of Columbia reported unemployment rates that were not measurably different from those of a month earlier.

Over the year, two New England states recorded statistically significant unemployment rate changes: Rhode Island (-1.5 percentage points), and Vermont (-0.7 point). Nine additional states reported statistically significant unemployment rate changes from March 2012, all of which were declines. The remaining 39 states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from a year ago.

 

Technical Note

This release presents labor force and unemployment data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. Estimates for the U.S. are obtained directly from the CPS, which is a sample survey of approximately 60,000 households nationwide that is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the Census Bureau. The LAUS program produces data for the nine geographic divisions in the United States:  New England, Middle Atlantic, South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, East North Central, West North Central, Mountain, and Pacific. Data for all divisions, as well as the 50 states, are available in the Regional and State Employment and Unemployment release www.bls.gov/lau/home.htm#news issued monthly by BLS, while national statistics are highlighted in the Employment Situation www.bls.gov/cps/home.htm#news.

Labor force and unemployment data for prior years reflect adjustments made at the end of each year. The adjusted estimates reflect updated population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, any revisions in the other data sources, and model re-estimation. In most years, historical data for the most recent five years (both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted) are revised near the beginning of each calendar year, prior to or coincident with the release of January estimates.

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Last Modified Date: May 10, 2013