The annual average unemployment rate in New England, at 5.9 percent in 2014, was down 1.0 percentage point over the year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Nationally the unemployment rate fell 1.2 percentage points, to 6.2 percent in 2014. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that New England’s unemployment rate was not measurably different than the national average in 2014. The jobless rate in New England has rarely exceeded the U.S. average in the 38 years this data has been collected.   (See chart A.) 

 

New England is 1 of 9 geographic divisions in the United States. Jobless rates in the divisions ranged from a low of 4.6 percent in the West North Central to a high of 7.2 percent in the Pacific in 2014. Three divisions, the West North Central, West South Central, and Mountain recorded annual average unemployment rates that were significantly lower than that for the nation. Two divisions had rates significantly above the U.S. average--the East South Central and the Pacific. (See table 2.)

All nine geographic divisions reported statistically significant over-the-year unemployment rate decreases in 2014. The largest of these occurred in the East North Central (-1.7 percentage points) followed by the Middle Atlantic (-1.5 points).

Three of the six states that make up the New England division had jobless rates appreciably different from the U.S. average in 2014. Vermont (4.1 percent) and New Hampshire (4.3 percent) had rates significantly lower than that for the nation. In contrast, Rhode Island (7.7 percent) posted the highest unemployment rate in New England and was among the highest jobless rates nationwide. Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine posted unemployment rates that were not measurably different than that for the nation in 2014. (See table 1.)

Annual average unemployment rates decreased from 2013 to 2014 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This was the first year since 1984 in which all states and the District had over-the-year rate declines. In New England, over-the-year rate declines ranged from 1.6 percentage points in Rhode Island to 0.3 percentage point in Vermont. Jobless rate declines from 2013 to 2014 in the other New England states ranged from 0.8 to 1.1 percentage points.

Technical Note

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population for the U.S., New England, and the New England states, 2013-14 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)

Area	Civilian labor force		Employed		Unemployed		Unemployment rate		Error range of rate, 2014(1)
	2013	2014	2013	2014	2013	2014	2013	2014
United States	155,389	155,922	143,929	146,305	11,460	9,617	7.4	6.2	6.1 - 6.2
New England	7,735	7,785	7,202	7,327	533	458	6.9	5.9	5.6 - 6.2
Connecticut	1,869	1,885	1,724	1,760	145	125	7.7	6.6	6.1 - 7.1
Maine	707	699	660	659	47	40	6.6	5.7	5.2 - 6.2
Massachusetts	3,509	3,557	3,272	3,353	237	205	6.7	5.8	5.2 - 6.3
New Hampshire	742	741	704	709	38	32	5.1	4.3	3.9 - 4.7
Rhode Island	557	553	505	511	52	42	9.3	7.7	7.1 - 8.2
Vermont	351	349	336	335	16	14	4.4	4.1	3.7 - 4.5
Footnotes (1) Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level and are based on unrounded data. Note: Data refer to place of residence. Unemployment rates are in percent and are based on unrounded levels. Data for subnational areas reflect revised population controls and model reestimation. As a result, they will not add to U.S. totals.

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population by region and division, 2013-14 annual averages
(Numbers in thousands)

Census region and division	Civilian labor force		Employed		Unemployed		Unemployment rate		Error range of rate, 2014(1)
	2013	2014	2013	2014	2013	2014	2013	2014
Northeast	28,343	28,251	26,221	26,518	2,121	1,733	7.5	6.1	6.0 - 6.3
New England	7,735	7,785	7,202	7,327	533	458	6.9	5.9	5.6 - 6.2
Middle Atlantic	20,608	20,466	19,019	19,191	1,589	1,275	7.7	6.2	6.0 - 6.5
South	56,781	56,996	52,792	53,580	3,989	3,416	7.0	6.0	5.9 - 6.1
South Atlantic	30,078	30,240	27,897	28,359	2,181	1,881	7.3	6.2	6.0 - 6.4
East South Central	8,581	8,403	7,909	7,830	672	573	7.8	6.8	6.5 - 7.2
West South Central	18,122	18,353	16,987	17,392	1,135	962	6.3	5.2	5.0 - 5.5
Midwest	34,301	34,443	31,831	32,429	2,471	2,014	7.2	5.8	5.7 - 6.0
East North Central	23,286	23,319	21,390	21,817	1,896	1,502	8.1	6.4	6.2 - 6.7
West North Central	11,016	11,124	10,441	10,611	575	512	5.2	4.6	4.4 - 4.8
West	36,189	36,529	33,293	34,057	2,896	2,473	8.0	6.8	6.6 - 6.9
Mountain	11,130	11,252	10,352	10,601	777	652	7.0	5.8	5.5 - 6.0
Pacific	25,059	25,277	22,941	23,456	2,119	1,821	8.5	7.2	7.0 - 7.4
Footnotes (1) Error ranges are shown at the 90-percent confidence level and are based on unrounded data. Note: Data for subnational areas reflect revised population controls and model reestimation. As a result, they will not add to U.S. totals. Unemployment rates are in percent and are based on unrounded levels.  Regions are defined as the four Census regions, comprised as follows: Northeast Region includes the New England Division - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; and the Middle Atlantic Division - New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. South Region includes the South Atlantic Division - Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East South Central Division - Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee; and West South Central Division - Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Midwest Region includes the East North Central Division - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; and the West North Central Division - Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. West Region includes the Mountain Division - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming; and the Pacific Division - Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington.