WASHINGTON – The unemployment rate in the Providence-Fall River-Warwick metropolitan area continued to rise last month, as the work force expanded while local payrolls shrank, according to data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The New Bedford area jobless rate also climbed in July.
The Greater Providence jobless rate increased to 7.9 percent last month, after rising to 7.3 percent in June, 6.9 percent in May (READ MORE) and 6.0 percent in April, the BLS said. That represented a 38-percent increase from July 2007, when the unemployment rate in metro area was 5.7 percent.
The Providence region’s civilian labor force (based on place of residence) expanded to 712,100 local workers from June’s 707,700 although it remained short of the year-ago total of 716,700. Non-farm payroll employment (based on place of work) declined to 565,800 jobs, from June’s 579,200 positions, and remained 2.5 percent below the year-ago 580,400 positions.
In the New Bedford metropolitan area, the unemployment rate last month was unchanged from June at 7.1 percent, but up from the July 2007 level of 6.3 percent. The area’s civilian labor force – also unchanged from June – was 84,000 workers, down from 84,300 a year ago. Employment on non-farm payrolls shrank to 64,900 jobs, from June’s 66,100 positions, and remained 0.6 percent below the July 2007 total of 65,300 local jobs.
Meanwhile, the Rhode Island unemployment rate climbed to 8.1 percent last month from the Ocean State’s June rate of 7.5 percent and year-ago rate of 5.5 percent, the bureau said. The Massachusetts jobless rate was 5.2 percent in July, down slightly from the previous month’s 5.3 percent but up from the July 2007 rate of 4.7 percent.
The U.S. unemployment rate last month climbed to 6.0 percent before seasonal adjustment, a sharp increase from July 2007’s 4.9-percent rate, the BLS said. Among the nation’s 369 major metropolitan areas, jobless rates were higher in July than a year earlier in 338 (or 91.6 percent), lower in 25 and unchanged in six.
Metro-area unemployment rates nationwide ranged from 2.4 percent in rural Sioux Falls, S.D. – which edged out Idaho Falls, Idaho, (2.5 percent) for a second month – to 23.3 percent in agricultural El Centro, Calif., the BLS said. Eleven major metropolitan areas had July jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, while nine had rates of less than 3.0 percent.
Additional information, including the latest monthly Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report, is available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov.
