The New England Information Office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released New England and state unemployment numbers for July 2017.  These data are supplied by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program which produces monthly and annual employment, unemployment, and labor force data for Census regions and divisions, states, counties, metropolitan areas, and many cities, by place of residence.  Some highlights of the attached release are below.

·        The New England unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1 percent in July  ̶  one year ago, the New England jobless rate was 4.0 percent. The U.S. jobless rate was little changed from June (4.4 percent).

·        Three New England states posted jobless rates that were significantly different from the U.S. rate of 4.3 percent. Maine (3.7 percent), Vermont (3.1 percent) and New Hampshire (2.8 percent) had significantly lower unemployment rates and were among 18 states in the country to do so.

·        Over the month, Maine (+0.2 percentage point) was the only New England state that had a significant over-the-year jobless rate change.

·        Over the year, Rhode Island was the only New England state with a statistically significant unemployment rate change. Rhode Island (-1.1 percentage points) was among the 27 states with unemployment rate decreases from July 2016.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you.

Crystal Orjiako

Economist

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

New England Information Office

(617.565.2329 or Regional office: 617.565.2327 |  * This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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