Berkshire Unemployment Rate Down

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The latest state jobless rates show Berkshire County falling within the state average for the month of June with a seasonally unadjusted rate of 7.3 percent.

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development is reporting a seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate for June of  7.8 percent, up 0.4 of a percentage point from the revised May rate of 7.4 percent.  A statement from the office says that reflects seasonal increases in the number of residents entering and re-entering the labor force.

Berkshire County overall added more than 2,000 jobs over the month of May, and has 1,300 fewer jobless claims than January of this year. The county also is down from January's unemployment rate of 9.2 and has seen a decrease of more than a point from last year's average unemployment rate of 8.2.

Good news, but still far from 2000's average jobless rate of 2.9 percent. The following data is taken from the EOLWD site.