VERMONT UNEMPLOYMENT
Montpelier -- The Vermont Department of Labor has announced that the
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July was 3.6 percent, up two
tenths of a percentage point from the revised June estimate. The change
from last month was not statistically significant.
Unemployment rates for Vermont's 17 labor market areas ranged from 2.0
percent in Hartford to 4.5 percent in Randolph. Labor market area rates
are not seasonally adjusted; for comparison, the unadjusted rate for
Vermont was 3.3 percent.
"There was a pause in job growth prompting a modest increase in
unemployment," said Patricia A. McDonald, Commissioner of the Vermont
Department of Labor. "Conditions in most sectors of the state's economy,
however, remain favorable."
Seasonally adjusted employment lost 200 jobs in July after three months of
growth. Professional and business service jobs, affected in part by
fluctuations in administrative and support services, fell back down to the
prior month's level. Manufacturing employment inched up slightly, as did
jobs in health care and social assistance. Construction employment
remained flat after six consecutive months of expansion, while retail
trade
also held steady with no jobs added or lost. Increases in the government
sector--most likely from local seasonal hiring for outdoor
employment--offset some of the losses from the private sector.
Before seasonal adjustment, total nonfarm employment declined by 6,100
jobs. Cuts in local government education, typical for mid-summer, made up
the majority of the losses. Leisure and hospitality employment and
construction jobs continued to grow at an average pace for the
month. Manufacturing showed some modest gains, particularly in food
manufacturing. Gains were also seen in real estate and rentals, health
care and social assistance, and professional and technical services.
After
adding jobs in the prior month, the administrative, support and waste
industry cut jobs during July. Other local government (non-education)
continued to add jobs for the third month in a row, as is common during
the
summer.
Total nonfarm employment grew at an annual rate of 1.8%, up slightly
compared to recent months. The labor force numbers, however, indicate a
small drop in employment from a year ago. It is not unusual for these two
indicators to diverge temporarily.
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