The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for June 2012 was 4.7 percent. This represents an increase of one-tenth of one percent from the prior month. The comparable national unemployment rate held steady at 8.2 percent over the same time period.
‘The unemployment rate ticked up slightly during the month of June, by one-tenth of one percent, even though Vermont had positive job growth in June. The job gains did not overcome the seasonal adjustment factors that are expected during this time of year, including the largest impact this time of year -- school layoffs for summer. The outreach conducted by the Department of Labor to the Vermont employer community regarding their hiring needs is showing positive results, and this will help Vermonters find jobs. With nearly 2,200 job openings inventoried in less than a month, the Department of Labor is very optimistic about matching employers with qualified job seekers. We are continuing the job inventory survey, and hope to reach all Vermont employers during the summer and fall. In the meantime, we urge employers and job seekers to contact their local Vermont Department of Labor office and register as an employer with job openings or as a job seeker’, said Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan.
State of Vermont Overview
Vermont Labor Force Statistics (Seasonally Adjusted)
Changes From
June
2012
May
2012
June
2011
May
2012
June
2011
Total Labor Force
358,000
358,000
357,800
0
200
Employment
341,100
341,600
337,600
-500
3,500
Unemployment
16,900
16,400
20,200
500
-3,300
Rate (%)
4.7
4.6
5.6
0.1
-0.9
Vermont’s labor force, employment and unemployment statistics are produced from a combination of a Statewide survey of households and statistical modeling. The data are produced by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program (LAUS) a cooperative program with the US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Vermont Department of Labor.
The Vermont seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by one-tenth of a percent to 4.7 percent in June. The comparable rate for the United States experienced no change from the prior month’s level of 8.2 percent. The seasonally adjusted Vermont data for June show the Vermont total labor force was unchanged from the May estimates. Total employment decreased by 500 while total unemployment increased by an offsetting amount. None of these changes were statistically significant.
June unemployment rates for Vermont’s 17 labor market areas ranged from 3.4 percent in Hartford to 7.0 percent in Newport (note: local labor market area unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted). For comparison, the June unadjusted unemployment rate for Vermont was 5.1 percent which reflects an increase of seven-tenths of a percent from the May level and a decline of six-tenths of a percent from a year ago.
The adjusted unemployment rate in New England was 6.8 percent. Vermont has the lowest rate in the region. New Hampshire's rate was up one-tenth to 5.1 percent. Connecticut was up three-tenths to 8.1 percent. Maine was up one-tenth to 7.5 percent. Massachusetts was even at 6 percent. and Rhode Island was down one-tenth to 10.9 percent, which was second worst in the nation to Nevada at 11.6 percent. Vermont is tied for the fourth lowest in the nation.
Analysis of Job Changes by Industry
The preliminary ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’jobs estimates for June show an increase of 1,700 jobs when compared to the revised May numbers. This reported over-the-month change does not include the 150 job decrease between the preliminary and the revised May estimates due to the inclusion of more data. The broader economic trends can be detected by focusing on the changes between June 2012 and June 2011. As detailed in the preliminary ‘not seasonally adjusted’June data, Total Private Industries have increased by 2.3 percent (5,600 jobs) while Government has lost employment (-1,350 jobs or -2.6 percent) within the last year.
The seasonally adjusted data for June reports a decrease of 1,400 jobs from the revised May data. As with the ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’data, this over-the-month change is from the revised May numbers which experienced an upward revision from the preliminary estimates by 100 jobs. A review of the seasonally adjusted over-the-month changes in June reflects employment decreases across ownership types; Private Industries and Total Government both reported decreases (600 and 800 jobs, respectively). State Government had the largest over-the-month movement both nominally and in percentage terms with a reported job decrease of 700 jobs or 3.8 percent. Additionally, Construction (-300 jobs or -2.2 percent) and Financial Activities (-200 jobs or -1.7 percent) also reported notable declines in percentage terms. Conversely, Education & Health Services reported an increase of 500 jobs (or 0.8 percent) from the prior month.
Source: Vermont Dept of Labor 7.20.2012