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USDL-09-119
For release: Monday, April 28, 2009
NEW ENGLAND AND STATE UNEMPLOYMENT: MARCH 2009
The New England unemployment rate advanced 0.2 percentage point to 7.8 percent in March, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the year, the New England jobless rate rose 3.0 percentage points. Regional Commissioner Denis M. McSweeney noted that New England's rate was the highest it had been since December 1992. Nationally, the unemployment rate rose from 8.1 to 8.5 percent in March and was up 3.4 percentage points from a year earlier. (See chart 1.)
New England is one of nine geographic divisions nationwide. Among the nine geographic divisions, the Pacific and East North Central reported the highest unemployment rates in March, 10.8 and 10.0 percent, respectively. The West South Central registered the lowest rate, 6.5 percent. Five of the 9 divisions experienced statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate increases: the Pacific (+0.7 percentage point), East South Central (+0.6 point), East North Central (+0.5 point), Mountain (+0.3 point), and West South Central (+0.2 point). All nine divisions had significant over-the-year rate increases, with the Pacific recording the largest (+4.8 percentage points).
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In March, four New England states posted jobless rates that were significantly different from that of the United States. New Hampshire (6.2 percent), Vermont (7.2 percent), and Connecticut (7.5 percent) recorded lower-than-average unemployment rates in March. These 3 states were among 25 states in the country to report measurably lower rates. In contrast, the unemployment rate in Rhode Island, at 10.5 percent, was measurably higher than that for the United States. Rhode Island was among 12 states and the District of Columbia with unemployment rates significantly higher than the national average. The remaining New England states of Massachusetts and Maine had rates little different from the U.S. average in March. These 2 states joined 11 others having unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from that for the nation. (See table 1.)
It should be noted that the unemployment rate in Rhode Island continued to be at its highest point since the Bureau first began collecting state labor force data, in 1976. In Maine, the jobless rate was at its highest point in over 17 years. In Connecticut and Vermont, they were at their highest points in over 16 years, and in Massachusetts, the rate was at its highest point in 16 years.
In March, New Hampshire was the only New England state to post a significant increase in its unemployment rate over the month, up 0.5 percentage point. Nationally, 20 states recorded statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate increases in March. The remaining New England states were among 30 states and the District of Columbia that registered March unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a month earlier, though some had changes that were at least as large numerically as the significant changes.
Over the year, every New England state recorded a measurable jobless rate increase, led by Rhode Island, up 3.7 percentage points. Massachusetts and Maine recorded rate increases of 3.1 percentage points. Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut had smaller, but also statistically significant rate increases, from March 2008. Nationwide, every state and the District of Columbia recorded significant rate increases in their over-the-year jobless rates. Oregon reported the largest jobless rate increase from a year earlier (+6.6 percentage points), followed by South Carolina (+5.5 points), North Carolina (+5.4 points), and Michigan (+5.0 points).
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/#news issued monthly by BLS, while national statistics are highlighted in the Employment Situation www.bls.gov/cps/#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 reestimation. 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: April 29, 2009
