BLS: Jobless rate lower in Prov. metro in April than a year earlier

THE PROVIDENCE-WARWICK-FALL RIVER METROPOLITAN area was one of 269 metro areas in the nation that saw unemployment rates fall over the year in April, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Providence metro's jobless rate fell 1 percentage point to 4.8 percent. / COURTESY BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
THE PROVIDENCE-WARWICK-FALL RIVER METROPOLITAN area was one of 269 metro areas in the nation that saw unemployment rates fall over the year in April, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Providence metro's jobless rate fell 1 percentage point to 4.8 percent. / COURTESY BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

PROVIDENCE – Jobless rates were lower than a year earlier in April in 269 of 387 metropolitan areas, including the Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area, which saw its rate fall a full percentage point to 4.8 percent.
Rates were not adjusted for seasonality, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Providence metro’s unemployment rate was slightly higher than the national rate in April, which was 4.7 percent, a drop from 5.1 percent a year earlier.

Ames, Iowa, had the lowest unemployment rate in April at 2 percent. El Centro, Calif., had the highest unemployment rate at 20.1 percent.

Unemployment rates were higher than a year ago in 94 areas, and unchanged in 24 areas, the BLS said.

In the Providence metropolitan area, the civilian labor force decreased in April to 673,683 from 676,043 in April 2015, but the number of unemployed fell to 32,361 from 39,538 over the year.
In April, 327 metropolitan areas had over-the-year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, including the Providence metro, which saw employment in this category grow 1 percent, or by 5,600 workers, to 579,100 from 573,500 a year ago.

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The largest over-the-year employment increase occurred in New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa., (+173,900), while the largest over-the-year employment decrease was in Lafayette, La. (-7,700).
The largest over-the-year percentage gain in employment occurred in Madera, Calif. (+7.7 percent), while the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment occurred in Casper, Wyo. (-6.6 percent).

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