PROVIDENCE, R.I. — New England’s unemployment rate was significantly lower than the national average in 2011, with Rhode Island the only state in the region that posted a higher average for the year.
The New England office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the regional jobless rate was 7.7 percent, down eight-tenths of a point from 2010. Rhode Island’s rate was 11.3 percent, down four-tenths of a point.
Four of the region’s six states had averages considerably lower than the national average: New Hampshire at 5.4 percent, Vermont at 5.6 percent, Massachusetts at 7.4 percent and Maine at 7.5 percent. Connecticut’s average was 8.8 percent for the year.
The national average for 2011 was 8.9 percent.
Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has called the state’s jobless rate unacceptable.
Dose that count the people on welfare plus the people that have stopped looking for work ?
Finally an article reporting that the recession, although painful, is no where near as bad here in Maine as it is in most other states. This was true all during the 2010 election year when Conservatives were blaming bad times in Maine on state Democratic leaders.
Fact is, Maine was very well positioned, policy wise, when the recession hit – Infrastructure, educational institutions, safety net all in good shape.
That’s why our unemployment rate has been better than average.
Here’s another stunner of a fact.
Of the 372 Metropolitan areas in the country on which unemployment statistics are kept, the best two of all that are east of the Mississippi are,…Burlington Vermont and Kittery Maine.
Better than any east of the Mississippi.
http://bls.gov/web/metro/laumm…
While the national unemployment rate is 8.3%, the rate in Kittery is 4.4%, down from 4.6% last month.
Portland, Maine’s unemployment rate is 5.5% down from 5.6% last month.
In fact, since the late 90s, with Democrats in charge, Maine’s unemployment rate has been consistently below the national rate.