PROVIDENCE – The jobless rate in the Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area in September was 3.3%, a 0.3 percentage-point decline year over year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a national report on Wednesday.
The BLS said that jobless rates declined in 284 of 389 metro areas in the United States. The U.S. unemployment rate in September was 3.3%, a decline from 3.6% one year prior.
The labor force in the metro area increased 573 individuals year over year to 690,612. The number of unemployed in the area declined 7.2% in that time to 22,855. Meanwhile, nonfarm employment in the metro increased 1.2% to 603,700.
In the New Bedford metro area in September, the unemployment rate was 4.2%, a 0.3 percentage-point decline year over year. The labor force increased 549 people over the year to 86,545 in September, while the number of unemployed in the metro area declined 6% to 3,601 people. Nonfarm employment in the area increased 1.5% year over year in September to 68,200 jobs.
In the Norwich-New London, Conn.-Westerly metro area, unemployment was 3.3% in September, a 0.2 percentage-point decline year over year. The labor force declined 392 individuals over the year to 142,307.
The number of unemployed in the area declined 4.3% year over year to 4,746 people. Nonfarm employment in the area declined 0.3% year over year to 130,200.
