The Merrimack Valley area, including Haverhill, Methuen and Lawrence, gained the highest percentage of jobs last month, while there was a slight overall drop statewide.
The revised job report shows a statewide seasonally adjusted preliminary jobs estimate decrease of 800 jobs in October, but an over-the-year gain of 77,100 jobs.
Of the 15 areas for which employment estimates are published, 13 areas gained jobs compared to the previous month. The largest percentage increases occurred in the Haverhill-Newburyport-Amesbury statistical area at 1.6%; Lawrence-Methuen-Salem, 1.1%, and Peabody-Salem-Beverly, 1%.
From October 2022 to October 2023, 14 areas gained jobs.
To compare the statewide rate to local unemployment rates, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the statewide unadjusted unemployment rate for October 2023 was 2.6%, up .1% from the revised September 2023 estimate and one percentage point below the nation’s unadjusted unemployment rate of 3.6%.
Earlier, the state reported statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October was 2.8%, up.2 percentage points compared to the revised September estimate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2023 was 3.9%.
The state said the unadjusted unemployment rates and job estimates for the labor market areas reflect seasonal fluctuations and may show different levels and trends than the statewide seasonally adjusted estimates.