Business & Tech
Norton Unemployment up During Summer but Down to end August
After an increase in unemployment in May, June and July, Norton's unemployment numbers fell during the month of August.
The unemployment rate in Norton remains lower than the start of the year despite an increase in May, June and July according to figures released by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development.
After the unemployment rate increased to 6.5 percent in May, Norton's unemployment rate was 7 percent in June and 7.2 percent in July. August saw a dip to 6.4 percent unemployment rate. The numbers remain lower than the 2011 average of 6.7 percent and the 2010 average of 7.7 percent.
The figures likely reflect a seasonal fluctuation in employment numbers that is not unique to only Norton. One likely reason is the labor force typically grows during the summer due to the addition of out-of-school young people.
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Across the state, the unemployment rate in August was 6.4 percent. In August of 2011 it was 7.2 percent.
Sharon had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the area with 4.4 percent unemployment for August while Attleboro had one of the highest rates at 9.6 percent.
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Below is a chart of unemployment rates for cities and towns in the area.
Town Aug-12 Jul-12 Jun-12 May-12 Apr-12 Mar-12 Feb-12 Jan-12 Attleboro 9.60% 9.00% 8.20% 8.50% 8.00% 9.10% 9.40% 9.30% Canton 5.60% 5.70% 5.60% 5.00% 4.90% 5.20% 6.10% 6.10% Dedham 5.70% 5.90% 5.60% 5.00% 5.10% 5.60% 6.20% 6.50% Easton 5.60% 6.10% 6.00% 5.40% 5.30% 5.40% 6.20% 6.60% Foxborough 4.90% 5.30% 5.20% 4.80% 5.00% 5.80% 6.80% 6.80% Mansfield 5.50% 5.80% 5.40% 4.90% 5.30% 5.30% 6.40% 6.70% Norfolk 5.40% 5.90% 5.50% 5.30% 5.20% 5.40% 6.50% 6.30% Norton 6.40% 7.20% 7.00% 6.50% 5.90% 6.70% 7.70% 8.30% Norwood 5.30% 5.60% 5.40% 5.00% 5.00% 5.40% 6.20% 6.00% Plainville 8.40% 7.90% 6.80% 7.30% 7.40% 8.80% 9.20% 9.00% Sharon 4.40% 5.10% 4.60% 4.20% 4.20% 4.20% 5.00% 5.70% Stoughton 6.00% 6.10% 5.80% 5.30% 5.50% 6.00% 6.80% 6.90% Walpole 4.90% 5.00% 4.70% 4.30% 4.70% 4.90% 6.00% 6.20% Wrentham 5.40% 6.00% 5.40% 4.90% 5.20% 5.80% 7.10% 6.70%