Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Labor announced today that the seasonally-adjusted statewide unemployment rate for March was 2.8 percent. This reflects no change from the revised February rate. The national rate in March was 4.1 percent. As of the prior month’s preliminary data, the Burlington-South Burlington Metropolitan NECTA was fourth lowest unemployment rate in the country for all metropolitan areas. Overall, Vermont’s unemployment rate was tied for the fourth lowest in the country for the same time period.
“The Vermont economy continues on its recent trajectory of modest job growth and low unemployment. The current March numbers hint at the annual transition from winter to summer business activities with leisure and hospitality industries starting to report some seasonal job declines. It is expected this trend will continue into next month’s data due to late snow fall. Summer businesses are ramping up hiring activities. If you are currently seeking employment, considering re-entering the labor market or looking to advance your career visit one of the 12 Career Resource Centers throughout the state. Staff at our Centers can help connect you with companies seeking talent and provide opportunities to further your skills in order to be more competitive in today’s economy,” said Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle.
The seasonally-adjusted Vermont data for March show the Vermont civilian labor force increased by 1,049 from the prior month’s revised estimate. The number of employed persons increased by 1,182 and the number of unemployed persons decreased by 133. Changes in labor force and employment were statistically significant.
The March unemployment rates for Vermont’s 17 labor market areas ranged from 2.3 percent in Burlington-South Burlington and White River Junction to 6.1 percent in Derby (note: local labor market area unemployment rates are not seasonally-adjusted). For comparison, the March unadjusted unemployment rate for Vermont was 3.0 percent which reflects a decrease of one-tenth of one percentage point from the revised unadjusted February level and a decrease of five-tenths of one percentage point from a year ago.
Not-Seasonally-Adjusted
The preliminary ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’ jobs estimates for March show a decrease of 200 jobs when compared to the revised February numbers. There was a decrease of 300 jobs between the preliminary and the revised February estimates due to the inclusion of more data. The monthly decrease seen in the March numbers was primarily attributable to seasonal movements in leisure and hospitality. 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’ March data, Total Private industries have increased by 1,200 jobs (0.5 percent) and Government (including public education) employment has increased by 500 jobs (0.9 percent) in the past year.
Seasonally-Adjusted
The seasonally-adjusted data for March reports an increase of 500 jobs from the revised February data. As with the ‘not-seasonally-adjusted’ data, this over-the-month change is from the revised February numbers which experienced an increase of 200 jobs from the preliminary estimates. The seasonally-adjusted over-the-month changes in March were minor at the sector level. Those with a notable percent increase include: Professional & Technical Services (+200 jobs or +1.4%) and Federal Government (+100 jobs or +1.4%). Sectors with a notable percent decrease include: Other Services (-200 jobs or -2.0%) and Administrative & Waste Services (-200 jobs or -1.7%).
Source: Vermont DOL 4.20.2018