Across the nation last month, regional and state unemployment rates were mostly unchanged or slightly below September’s, according to a report Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nationwide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October was 4.4 percent, down 0.2 percentage points from September and 0.5 points from October 2005.
Among the four regions nationwide, the Northeast had the lowest jobless rate, at 4.2 percent, down from September’s 4.6 percent and October 2005’s 4.8 percent. It was followed by the South and West, both at 4.3 percent, and the Midwest at 4.8.
Among the nine geographic divisions, significant month-over-month declines were seen in three and year-over-year declines in eight of the nine. New England made both lists, dipping to 4.4 percent from its month-ago and year-ago jobless rates of 4.7 percent.
The unemployment rates last month in Rhode Island (5.0 percent), Massachusetts (4.6 percent) and Connecticut (4.2 percent) did not differ significantly from the nationwide jobless rate of 4.4 percent, the BLS found.
The Rhode Island and Massachusetts rates showed no significant change from the month-ago and year-ago rates. But in Connecticut, while last month’s jobless rate did not differ significantly from September’s, it did represent a statistically significant decline from the 4.9 percent of October 2005.
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed workers last month in Rhode Island was 28,800, down from September’s 30,200 and October 2005’s 29,100, the BLS said.
The state’s civilian labor force (by place of residence) was estimated at a seasonally adjusted 578,200 workers, all but unchanged from September’s 579,000 and slightly above the year-ago 572,300.
Rhode Island’s non-farm payroll in October (by place of work) was estimated at a seasonally adjusted 493,800 workers, a number that has varied little over the past year. That total included:
• 97,200 workers in education and health services (versus the year-ago 96,600);
• 79,100 in trade, transportation and utilities (versus the year-ago 79,800);
• 63,800 in government (versus the year-ago 64,700);
• 57,300 in professional and business services (up from 56,000 a year earlier);
• 52,800 in manufacturing (down from 54,500 a year earlier);
• 50,400 in leisure and hospitality (versus the year-ago 50,500);
• 37,000 in financial activities (up from 34,700 a year earlier);
• 23,200 workers in construction jobs (up from 22,500 a year earlier);
• and about 300 in natural resources and mining.
The full, 19-page report, “Regional and State Unemployment: October 2006” – including figures for other regions and divisions, plus all 50 states and Puerto Rico – is available at www.bls.gov.
