Vermont’s unemployment rate fell for the ninth consecutive month in April, this time to a seasonally adjusted 3.2 percent.
The change from 3.3 percent in March is not statistically significant, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the rate remains lower than April’s national unemployment rate of 5 percent.
Vermont was tied in April with North Dakota for the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the country, behind Colorado (3.1 percent), Nebraska (3 percent), New Hampshire (2.6 percent), and South Dakota (2.5 percent).
Data from the Vermont Department of Labor show the state’s economy added 700 jobs in April while gaining 800 workers in the labor force.
The lowest unemployment rates in Vermont, which are not seasonally adjusted, are in the Burlington area (2.1 percent) and White River Junction (2.3 percent). The highest are in Derby (5.7 percent) and Waterbury (4.5 percent).
In a statement, Gov. Peter Shumlin highlighted April’s unemployment rate in context of his years in office. Since 2011, Shumlin said Vermont added 18,000 jobs and saw its per-capita personal income rise each year.
“We’ve done all that while making smart policy choices that protect workers, such as ensuring paid sick days and raising the minimum wage,” Shumlin said. “For anyone who says growing jobs and doing what is right for workers are incompatible goals, Vermont’s continued economic success proves them wrong.”
Also in April, the consumer price index (which measures inflation) increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hourly earnings decreased 0.1 percent, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
