Chelmsford-Area Unemployment Rate Improves: Latest Update

CHELMSFORD, MA — Job growth slowed near the end of 2021, but the country is within striking distance of pre-pandemic unemployment levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' December jobs report.

Nationally, employment rose by 199,000 jobs in December, and the unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 percentage points to 3.9 percent when seasonally adjusted, according to the BLS. The total number of jobs added was the lowest of any month in 2021; however, the BLS tends to revise job estimate figures upward in subsequent months.

The national unemployment rate dropped by 2.8 percentage points over the course of 2021 and continued to move closer to the pre-pandemic rate of 3.5 percent.

The most recently available local unemployment figures are for November; that rate improved since October in the Chelmsford area and continues to be lower than it was after the pandemic first struck.

The Middlesex County unemployment rate was 3.8 percent in November, down from 4.2 percent in October. That reflected some improvement from November 2020, when the unemployment rate stood at 6.7 percent.

The November unemployment rate in Middlesex County was lower than the Massachusetts rate of 4.8 percent, according to the latest figures from the BLS.

Nationally, average hourly earnings increased by 19 cents per hour from November to December, up to $31.31, according to the BLS. Average hourly earnings increased 4.7 percent in 2021.

Some experts predict January and possibly February hiring will slow down due to the omicron coronavirus variant, according to The New York Times.

The leisure/hospitality industry continued to add jobs, with a net gain of 53,000 positions in December. Still, employment in the industry is down by 1.2 million positions, or 7.2 percent, since February 2020.

The BLS also revised previous national monthly employment figures upwards; October’s total job growth was revised by 102,000 positions, for a total growth of 648,000. November’s job growth went up an additional 39,000 positions to a total of 249,000.

Editor's note: This post was automatically generated using data from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. National figures are seasonally-adjusted, while county and state figures are not seasonally adjusted. November's figures are preliminary. Please report any errors or other feedback to [email protected].