Vermont Unemployment Rate Declines to 2.8 percent in December

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for December was 2.8 percent. This reflects a decline of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised November rate. The national rate in December was 4.1 percent. As of the prior month’s preliminary data, the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan NECTA was tied for the ninth lowest unemployment rate in the country for all metropolitan areas. Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate was tied for the fifth lowest in the country for the same time period.

“In preparation of a possible federal government shutdown, the Vermont Department of Labor is releasing the monthly ‘jobs report’ early. The Department is a partner of the federal government in the production of this information. The data was analyzed and compiled on an adjusted timeline to ensure its release in advance of a possible shutdown. The December data was originally slated to be released next Tuesday,” said Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle.

The Vermont seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate declined one-tenth of one percentage point in December to a statewide average of 2.8 percent. The comparable United States rate is 4.1 percent which was unchanged from the revised Novemberestimate. The seasonally-adjusted Vermont data for December show the Vermont civilian labor force increased by 150 from the prior month’s revised estimate. The number of employed persons increased by 250 and the number of unemployed persons decreased by 100. The changes were not statistically significant in the seasonally-adjusted series.

The December unemployment rates for Vermont’s 17 labor market areas ranged from 1.9 percent in Burlington – South Burlington to 4.7 percent in Derby (note: local labor market area unemployment rates are not seasonally-adjusted). For comparison, the December unadjusted unemployment rate for Vermont was 2.5 percent which reflects a decrease of two-tenths of one percentage point from the revised unadjusted November level and a decrease of three-tenths of one percentage point from a year ago.

 

Not-Seasonally-Adjusted

The preliminary ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’ jobs estimates for December show an increase of 2,700 jobs when compared to the revised November numbers. There was a decrease of 200 jobs between the preliminary and the revised November estimates due to the inclusion of more data. The monthly increase seen in the December numbers was primarily attributable to seasonal movements in leisure and hospitality related industries. The broader economic trends can be detected by focusing on the over-the-year changes in this data series. As detailed in the preliminary ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’ December data, Total Private industries have increased by 2,700 jobs (1.0 percent) and Government (including public education) employment has decreased by 100 jobs (-0.2 percent) in the past year.

Seasonally-Adjusted

The seasonally-adjusted data for December reports a decrease of 1,000 jobs from the revised November data. As with the ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’ data, this over-the-month change is from the revised November numbers which experienced a decrease of 200 jobs from the preliminary estimates. The seasonally-adjusted over-the-month changes in December were mixed at the sector level. Those with a notable percent increase include: Real Estate, Rental & Leasing (+100 jobs or +3.6%), Durable Goods Manufacturing (+300 jobs or +1.7%) and Construction (+200 jobs or +1.3%). Sectors with a notable percent decrease include: Mining & Logging (-100 jobs or -11.1%), Arts, Entertainment & Recreation (-400 jobs or -7.4%) and Administration & Waste Services (-300 jobs or -2.5%).