Business & Tech
Boston Unemployment Rate Steady
At 5.5 percent, the city's unemployment rate is below the 5.9 percent statewide rate.
The state's unemployment rate, already significantly lower than the national average, dropped again in April, according to figures released by the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The April rate is 5.9 percent, down half a percentage point from March's 6.4 percent mark. Massachusetts gained nearly 19,000 jobs in that time.
Most cities and towns in the state experienced drops in their local unemployment numbers, released Tuesday by Workforce Development. Some locations, like Cambridge and Arlington, are well below 4 percent, while others, like Chelsea and Revere, remain mired at 7 percent or higher.
Boston numbers are not broken out by neighborhood, but the city as a whole held steady at 5.5 percent. That represents a 1.1 percentage point drop over last month, however, and is lower than the state average.
Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The table below shows the unemployment rates for a sampling of Greater Boston. Have you seen evidence of a stronger hiring market? Are you a business owner looking for more help? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
Community April 2012 March 2012Feb. 2012
Find out what's happening in Beacon Hillfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Jan. 2012
Arlington3.5% 3.6%* 4.2% 4.3% Boston 5.5% 5.5% 6.6% 7.1% Cambridge 3.4% 3.3% 4.1% 4.3% Chelsea 7.5% 8.7% 10.4% 11.1% Everett 6% 6.5% 7.6% 7.8% Lynnfield 4.3% 4.2%* 5.2% 5% Malden 5.3% 5.4% 6.1% 6.4% Medford 5% 5.2% 6% 6.2% Melrose 4.3% 4.4%* 5% 5.2% Reading 4.1% 4.2% 5.2% 5.1% Revere
7%
* March numbers were readjusted and in some cases resulted in a percentage change for the marked communities.
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