PROVIDENCE – The unemployment rate in the Providence-Warwick-Fall River metropolitan area in February was 4.3 percent, not seasonally adjusted, a 0.8 percentage-point decline year over year, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics Wednesday.
The labor force was 684,903 in February, a decline from 687,459 people one year prior. The number of unemployed was 29,640, a year-over-year decline from 35,176 people. The number of people on nonfarm payrolls in the metro area was 580,000 in February, an increase from 579,700 one year prior.
The unemployment rate in Rhode Island for the month was also 4.3 percent, a decline from 5 percent one year prior. Nationally, the unemployment rate in February was 4.1 percent, a decline from 4.4 percent in February 2018.
Unemployment in the New Bedford metro area in February was 5.2 percent, a decline from 6.8 percent one year prior. The Massachusetts unemployment rate for the month was 3.2 percent.
New Bedford had a civilian labor force of 87,587 for the month, an increase from 85,885 one year prior. The number of unemployed in the metro area was 4,564, a decline from 5,848 in February 2018. The number of employees on nonfarm payrolls in the metro area in February was 66,100, an increase from 65,000 in February 2018.
The unemployment rate in the Norwich-New London, Conn.-Westerly metro area was 4.4 percent for the month, a decline from 5.1 percent one year prior. The Connecticut unemployment rate in February was also 4.4 percent.
The number of unemployed in the metro was 6,278, a decline from 7,141 one year prior. The civilian labor force was 141,527 people, an uptick from 140,574 in February 2018. The number of employees on nonfarm payrolls for the month was 126,700, a decline from 126,900 one year prior.
The BLS said year-over-year unemployment rates in February were lower in 283 of 389 metro areas in the nation, higher in 67 metros and unchanged in 39 metro areas.
The Ames, Iowa, metro had the lowest unemployment rate for the month in the nation at 1.4 percent. The El Centro, Calif., metro had the highest unemployment rate at 17.4 percent.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. You may reach him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
