Vermont’s unemployment rate fell again in May and remains among the lowest in the country.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.1 percent in May compared to 3.2 percent in April. The change is not statistically significant, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Vermont lost 800 jobs from April to May, according to the Vermont Department of Labor. The lowest unemployment rates by region, not seasonally adjusted, continue to be in the Burlington and White River Junction areas at 2.1 percent. The highest are in Woodstock (4.8 percent) and Derby (4.3 percent).
“In the last year, the Vermont economy has seen employment growth across many sectors,” said Labor Commissioner Annie Noonan in a news release.
Noonan pointed to construction, nondurable goods manufacturing, professional and business services, health and social services, and leisure and hospitality industries as drivers of employment growth in the state.
The national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in May, down from 5 percent in April. Vermont had the fourth-lowest unemployment rate in May behind South Dakota (2.5 percent), New Hampshire (2.7 percent) and Nebraska (3 percent).
The national consumer price index, which measures inflation, increased 0.2 percent from April to May because of higher energy and housing costs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Average hourly earnings, adjusted for inflation, did not change from April to May, according to the bureau, but increased 1.4 percent from May 2015 to May 2016.
