Latest Seasonally Unadjusted Unemployment and Job Estimates for Local Labor Markets in Massachusetts

BOSTON, MA— December 20, 2022 – Local unemployment rates increased in seven labor market areas, decreased in fourteen areas and remained unchanged in three labor market areas in the state during the month of November compared to October, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported.

Compared to November 2021, the rates were down in twenty-four labor market areas.

Of the fifteen areas for which employment estimates are published, ten NECTA areas gained jobs compared to the previous month. The largest increases occurred in the Leominster-Gardner (+1.1%), Brockton-Bridgewater-Easton (+0.7%), and Framingham (+0.7%) areas.

From November 2021 to November 2022, fourteen areas gained jobs with the largest percentage increases seen in the Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford MA-NH (+6.0%), Boston-Cambridge-Newton (+5.2%), and Leominster-Gardner (+4.7%) areas.

The statewide seasonally adjusted preliminary jobs estimate showed an increase of 17,300 jobs in November, and an over-the-year gain of 144,200 jobs.

In order to compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for November 2022 was 2.9 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the revised October estimate and five-tenths of a percentage point below the nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.4 percent.

Last week, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported the statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the month of November 2022 was 3.4 percent, down one-tenth of a percentage point from the revised October 2022 estimate of 3.5 percent. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2022 was 3.7 percent.

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.