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Berkshire CountyJobless Rate Drops

Staff Reports

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire County is doing slightly better than the statewide average in keeping people working, according to May statistics released by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.

May's jobless rate for the county was 8.6 percent (not seasonally adjusted), compared to the statewide 9.2 percent and full percentage point below the national rate.

The Pittsfield Metropolitan area added 200 jobs in the past month, from 34,900 in April to 35,100 in May. The metropolitan area had a jobless rate of 8.9 percent, down from 9.3 percent in April. It had a 7.8 percent rate in May 2009.

Separately, Pittsfield's jobless rate is 9.7, nearly 5 points higher than the state rate. Of the city's labor force of 23,075, some 2,246 are receiving unemployment benefits.

Tiny Florida continued with the highest jobless rate of 11.7 percent; the lowest was Mount Washington with 2.1.

North Adams' jobless rate remains high at 10.4 percent, representing some 758 people out of work. Adams was higher at 11.2 percent, or about 500 out of work. The Great Barrington Labor Market Area, covering much of South County, had a jobless rate of 6.8 percent in May, down from 7.6 percent in April; a year ago, the rate was 6.1 percent.

Still, the unemployment rate for Berkshire County has dropped significantly since March's 9.6 percent and the state has added jobs for four consecutive months. The jobless rate dropped in 11 of the state's 22 labor market areas.

The June 2010 unemployment rate, labor force data and jobs estimates for Massachusetts will be released on July 15, 2010; local unemployment statistics will be released on July 20, 2010. Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi.

Tags: County, unemployment, statistics      

State Jobless Rate Down; Berkshire County's Up

Staff Reports

BOSTON — Unemployment has dropped statewide by nearly a point since February, from 10.0 to 9.3. Berkshire County's rate is slightly above the state average at 9.6 percent, up from 8 percent in December. These rates are not seasonally adjusted.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that unemployment rates were lower in March than February in all of the commonwealth's 22 labor market areas. Twenty of the labor market areas also had lower unemployment rates in February than in January.

The Pittsfield Metropolitan Area, which includes a few neighboring North County towns, posted a jobless rate of 9.8; with a workforce of 38,895, some 3,809 are still out of work. North County continues to flag behind with a jobless rate of 10.4 percent; some 1,850 of its workforce of 17,729 are unemployed.

Over the year, the unadjusted unemployment rate is up 1.1 percent from the 8.2 percent rate in March 2009.

Job gains were recorded in all of the 12 labor areas in March, with Boston-Cambridge-Quincy area added the most jobs over the month. Over the year, the Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury and Barnstable areas gained jobs, the remaining 10 areas lost jobs. Over the year, unemployment rates were up in all of the labor market areas for which rates are published.

The seasonally adjusted statewide March 2010 unemployment rate of 9.3 percent, released on April 15, was down from the 9.5 percent rate in February 2010. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate for March 2010, also released on April 15th, showed a gain of 7,600 jobs over the month.

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.

NOTES: The 2009 rates have been revised with this release. Detailed labor market information is available at www.mass.gov/lmi. See the Revised March, 2010 Media Advisory annual schedule for complete listing of release dates.

Berkshire County WIA  
   Time Frame:  March 2010 
   Not Seasonally Adjusted Data 

 Area  Labor Force  Employed  Unemployed  Area Rate
 Berkshire County WIA  72,604    65,606    6,998    9.6  

 

 City or Town   Labor Force  Employed  Unemployed  Rate
 Adams  4,572    4,030    542    11.9  
 Alford  225    210    15    6.7  
 Becket  1,044    930    114    10.9  
 Cheshire  1,969    1,749    220    11.2  
 Clarksburg  947    856    91    9.6  
 Dalton  3,760    3,446    314    8.4  
 Egremont  831    783    48    5.8  
 Florida  416    368    48    11.5  
 Great Barrington  4,328    3,954    374    8.6  
 Hancock  622    596    26    4.2  
 Hinsdale  1,179    1,016    163    13.8  
 Lanesborough  1,800    1,620    180    10.0  
 Lee  3,676    3,328    348    9.5  
 Lenox  2,699    2,474    225    8.3  
 Monterey  576    543    33    5.7  
 Mount Washington  94    91    3    3.2  
 New Ashford  155    146    9    5.8  
 New Marlborough  923    821    102    11.1  
 North Adams  7,371    6,528    843    11.4  
 Otis  853    770    83    9.7  
 Peru  474    451    23    4.9  
 Pittsfield  22,955    20,623    2,332    10.2  
 Richmond  940    895    45    4.8  
 Sandisfield  511    454    57    11.2  
 Savoy  451    380    71    15.7  
 Sheffield  2,014    1,853    161    8.0  
 Stockbridge  1,327    1,241    86    6.5  
 Tyringham  250    232    18    7.2  
 Washington  337    298    39    11.6  
 West Stockbridge  862    794    68    7.9  
 Williamstown  3,931    3,664    267    6.8  
 Windsor  512    462    50    9.8  
Tags: County, unemployment, statistics      
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