There is more job growth and lower unemployment rates in the Merrimack Valley, as the today’s local jobs and unemployment report shows.
Haverhill’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.5 percent in November to 5.1 percent in December, while Andover dropped from 4.3 to 3.6 percent, Groveland from 3.8 to 3.7 percent and Methuen from 6.1 to 5.7 update. The report was due Tuesday, but its release was postponed by the Blizzard of 2015.
The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) reported job gains occurred during December in the Haverhill-North Andover-Amesbury and the Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford statistical areas. They are among four of 12 areas tracked statewide to record job gains. The greater Lowell area is among five to report the state’s largest job gains since December, 2013.
Six other areas reported job losses and another two areas were unchanged. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 10,900 job gain in December and an over the year gain of 60,900 jobs.
The preliminary statewide unadjusted unemployment rate estimate for December was 4.8 percent, down 0.4 of a percentage point from the November rate. The seasonally adjusted statewide December unemployment rate, released on January 22, was 5.5 percent, down 0.3 of a percentage point over the month and down 1.6 percent over the year. The rate was 0.1 of a percentage point below the national unemployment rate