Vermont’s unemployment rate stayed at 3.7 percent in November, according to the state’s Department of Labor, showing no change from the October and September unemployment rates.
The 3.7 percent figure is lower than November’s national unemployment rate of 5 percent and, when ranked by state, gives Vermont the eighth-lowest unemployment rate in the country.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Vermont is behind North Dakota (2.7 percent), Nebraska (2.9 percent), New Hampshire (3.2 percent), Minnesota (3.5 percent), Iowa (3.4 percent), Colorado (3.6 percent), and Utah (3.5 percent).
The lowest unemployment rates in the state are 2.7 percent in the Burlington-South Burlington area and 2.9 percent in White River Junction. The highest are 5.3 percent in Derby and 5 percent in Woodstock. (The regional rates are not seasonally adjusted.)
Annie Noonan, the commissioner of the Department of Labor, said in a statement that Vermont has “a significant number of job opportunities across nearly all employment sectors” and “a continued decline in the number of unemployed Vermonters over the last year.”
The department’s data analysis said that the gross number of jobs in November was up 1,000 from October, in large part because of the hotel industry. From November 2014, the number of jobs in Vermont increased by 2,700 in the private sector and 1,300 in the public sector.
At the same time, according to the Public Assets Institute, a think tank in Montpelier, Vermont’s labor force decreased by 4,734 people from November 2014 to November 2015. Initial claims for unemployment compensation continues to decline, the Public Assets Institute said.
Also in labor news, Vermont’s minimum wage is scheduled to increase to $9.60 on Jan. 1. The minimum wage for tipped employees will be $4.80.
